The New York Times, "10 Voters on Panel Backing Pain Pills Had Industry Ties"

          Ten of the 32 government drug advisers who last week endorsed continued marketing of the huge-selling pain pills Celebrex, Bextra and Vioxx have consulted in recent years for the drugs' makers, according to disclosures in medical journals and other public records.
         If the 10 advisers had not cast their votes, the committee would have voted 12 to 8 that Bextra should be withdrawn and 14 to 8 that Vioxx should not return to the market. The 10 advisers with company ties voted 9 to 1 to keep Bextra on the market and 9 to 1 for Vioxx's return.
         Researchers with ties to industry commonly serve on Food and Drug Administration advisory panels, but their presence has long been a contentious issue. The agency has said it tries to balance expertise - often found among those who have conducted clinical trials of the drugs in question or otherwise studied them - with potential conflicts of interest.
Several of the panel members flagged with conflicts said most or all of the money went not to themselves but to their universities or institutions.