Advisory Panel

WASHINGTON -- An advisory panel unanimously recommended yesterday that the Food and Drug Administration allow back on the market a drug that is effective against multiple sclerosis but also can cause a rare, fatal brain infection. The committee proposed restrictions on the use of the drug, Tysabri, and the creation of an elaborate system to monitor patients for any sign of the incurable brain ailment, known as PML. Manufacturers said that in the U.S. alone, 100,000 patients might be interested in taking the medication, which costs an estimated $23,500 a year.

Mayor Martin O'Malley signed an executive order yesterday creating an advisory council on international affairs, hoping to raise the city's awareness abroad while injecting life into Baltimore's long-standing Sister Cities program. The 13-member council, stocked with prominent business and community leaders, will meet every two months to formulate ideas and guide the city's international relations initiatives. Topping the group's agenda will be reinvigorating Baltimore's partnerships with 11 sister cities around the world.

WASHINGTON -- A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel urged yesterday that the strongest possible safety warning be issued for drugs used by millions of children and adults to treat attention deficit disorder, because of emerging concern that they might increase the risks of heart attacks, strokes and sudden death. The FDA had called together the drug safety experts to help design further research on the risks. But in an unexpected twist, a majority of the panel members concluded the evidence of serious risks was so great that a strong new warning - not just more research - was needed.

Police Chief Wayne Livesay took two factors into consideration before deciding this week to open meetings of his advisory council to the public: State law now requires it, and his predecessor, County Executive James N. Robey, told him that he never considered the meetings closed during his 11-year tenure in the job. "There has been a misunderstanding over the past few years," said Victoria Goodman, Robey's spokeswoman. Livesay "thought he was in line with what his predecessor had done."

Moving forward with the creation of an educational foundation to raise funds, the Carroll schools superintendent faces the delicate task of selecting an advisory board that would be committed to equitably distributing the money to the most appropriate projects. Superintendent Charles I. Ecker has begun the process of selecting up to 15 people from throughout the community to sit on the panel that will raise money from private contributors and then determine which projects - unfunded or underfunded in the system's budget - it should sponsor.

Harford County Executive David Craig is preparing an executive order establishing a 20-member advisory commission to help the county prepare for the thousands of new jobs expected in and around Aberdeen Proving Ground over the next several years. Headed by economic development director J. Thomas Sadowski, the panel would include various county department leaders charged with advising Craig and the County Council on Harford's needs. The latest estimates suggest as many as 20,000 private-sector jobs could follow the 2,200 military jobs set to arrive as a result of a national base consolidation plan.

NEW YORK - International Business Machines Corp. has created an advisory panel of venture capitalists to help identify startup companies that may become suppliers, customers or acquisition targets. Investors from seven firms, including Accel Partners, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners and U.S. Venture Partners, will meet with IBM executives four times a year to suggest products and companies that may be of interest, IBM said yesterday. IBM's venture unit has identified more than 850 startups around the world with the help of venture capitalists and provides the companies with sales prospects and advice, said Mark L. Hanny, an IBM vice president.

WASHINGTON - Government regulators lack an effective system to monitor the safety of medical devices, which include items as diverse as incubators for premature babies, surgical clamps and cardiac pacemakers, a scientific panel concluded in a report issued yesterday. The Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for the safety of medical devices as well as drugs, needs additional legal authority from Congress and better internal procedures, according to an Institute of Medicine panel.

A plan to rejuvenate Brooklyn and Curtis Bay won approval from the city planning department yesterday, but not without fierce objections from area business owners, who oppose the creation of a community advisory panel. The purpose of the advisory panel is to urge area businesses to establish a closer relationship with local residents. Although the plan is nonbinding and has no regulatory teeth, business leaders objected to the small portion that called for the advisory panel. They said its language is unclear and could result in an additional layer of oversight.