New CoPIRG-backed legislation signed by the president in September should make the drugs we put in our medicine cabinets safer.

CoPIRG urged our state’s congressional delegation to stand behind provisions that would require greater transparency in clinical trials of new drugs, greater independence on FDA drug safety panels, and greater accountability for drug companies that fail to perform required safety studies—including fines of up to $10 million.

According to Paul Brown, our lead advocate on the issue, controversies surrounding the harmful side effects of drugs such as Vioxx, Paxil and Avandia left members of Congress more open to our push for reform.

“In the end,” Brown said, “there were too many headlines about dangerous drugs. Congress had to act and we’re pleased they did.”

The bill’s near-unanimous final approval belied the intense debate that surrounded some of its key provisions. We made it a priority to require drug companies to disclose clinical trial results—a step vehemently opposed by drug industry lobbyists.

Together with other members of U.S. PIRG, our national federation, we spearheaded the Patients and Consumers Coalition, which included groups ranging from the Union of Concerned Scientists to the Breast Cancer Fund. We made the case for mandatory posting of clinical trials in our meetings with key congressional leaders, including Reps. John Dingell (Mich.), Frank Pallone (N.J.), Henry Waxman (Calif.), and Ed Markey (Mass.); and Sens. Ted Kennedy (Mass.), Jack Reed (R.I.), Dick Durbin (Ill.), and Barbara Mikulski (Md.), who ultimately championed the provision.