Sidney Wolfe, an American doctor and consumer activist who clashed for decades with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), died on December 18th, 2020 at the age of 86 at his home in Washington DC. His family have reported that the cause of death was complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Wolfe was a fierce critic of the FDA for not responding quickly enough to recall unsafe drugs or taking tough action against pharmaceutical companies. In 1970, he co-founded Public Citizen’s Health Research Group which has challenged the FDA in court numerous times. He was also instrumental in the recall and ban of the drug phenformin, which was found to have serious side effects such as an increased risk of lactic acidosis.
He was outspoken about his belief that the FDA were not taking sufficient care in monitoring and controlling drug safety, and his book “Worst Pills, Best Pills” which criticised the pharmaceutical industry, is widely considered to have spurred a change of attitude across the medical industry.
Wolfe’s advocacy work took him all across the world, including to the White House where he was a regular fixture. His campaigns have saved countless lives, and his work will continue to be remembered in the years to come.
