Dorothy Roberts, JD, on a Heart Therapy Approved and Marketed for Black People Only

Why It Matters

Approving a race‑targeted drug legitimizes a flawed biological view of race, diverting resources from the social determinants that cause higher heart‑failure rates among Black Americans and risking compromised patient care.

Key Takeaways

• FDA approved BiDil exclusively for self‑identified Black patients.
• Critics argue race‑based labeling reinforces false biological race concepts.
• Commercial motives, not genetics, drove BiDil’s market segmentation.
• Racial categorization distracts from social determinants causing heart‑failure disparities.
• Race‑specific drugs risk misguiding research and patient care.

Summary

Dorothy Roberts, a bioethicist, recounts learning that the FDA approved BiDil, a heart‑failure therapy, solely for Black patients, sparking outrage over race‑based drug labeling.

She argues the approval rests on the discredited premise that humans fall into distinct biological races, noting that the drug’s market segmentation was driven more by NitroMed’s profit motives than any proven genetic advantage.

Roberts cites the FDA advisory committee chair’s claim that “self‑identified race is a surrogate for genomic‑based medicine,” highlighting how such rhetoric diverts attention from the social and environmental factors that underlie the disproportionate burden of heart disease in Black communities.

The episode underscores the danger of race‑specific approvals: they can misguide research, reinforce stereotypes, and impede efforts to address structural inequities that truly drive health disparities.

Original Description

Dorothy Roberts, JD, a professor of law and sociology at the University of Pennsylvania (@penn), speaks on why "approving BiDil as a race-based drug is bad medicine." Go deeper in episode 5 of the Intention to Treat podcast.