ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 21, 1992                   TAG: 9201210199
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short


FDA ORDERS IMPLANT DATA RELEASED

The Food and Drug Administration has told the Dow Corning Corp. to make public some 90 documents on silicone gel breast implants, but company officials said Monday the company may not comply.

Dr. James Benson, the chief FDA official in charge of medical devices, told the company that the agency would disclose the documents if the company did not do so by Wednesday.

In a letter to Lawrence Reed, president of Dow Corning Corp., the largest maker of breast implants, Benson said the company should immediately release the data so that women and doctors can consider company documents on safety.

Dow Corning officials said they would release scientific information but were "inclined to withhold" documents in which company officials debated safety studies. - The New York Times



by Archana Subramaniam by CNB