Pharma

November 11, 2008

The Supreme Court Hears Arguments That Warning Labels Should Include Things Done Correctly

A handy rule of thumb, good for reading published clinical trials and court cases is this: if you can't understand the basics in fifteen seconds, you are being lied to.

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September 17, 2008

The Process of Bringing New Drugs To Market

An interview with Alan J. Milbauer, a retired vice president from AstraZeneca and partly responsible for Seroquel, about what goes into the process we're all angry about.

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September 5, 2008

Undue Influence On Psychiatrists, Or The Public?

This is an example of why the controversy over Pharma influence on doctors is, while accurate, likely irrelevant.

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September 4, 2008

Doctors May Only Be Paid Once

The ACCME (the people who run CMEs) are asking doctors to comment on their proposal, which is:

Persons paid to create, or present, promotional materialson behalf of commercial interests cannot control the content of accredited continuing medical education on that same content.

In other words, if you're a doctor that is on Abbott's speaker's bureau for Depakote, you would not be allowed to present CME lectures on Depakote's use in bipolar, because even though CMEs are technically free of Pharma influence, you may have a bias because of your prior financial entanglements.

How could anyone be against this proposal?

Here goes...

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August 29, 2008

A Solution To The Pharma Problem

The problem so far is all arguments against Pharma (prices too high; no interest in making meds people need; no interest in cures, only maintenance treatments, etc, etc) fail because they are ethical arguments.

The problem and solution require our reluctant acceptance that the problem is an economic one, and only economics will solve it.

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August 27, 2008

What Happens If Pharmaceutical Marketing Disappears? Part 1

Everyone (including me) thinks Pharma is too heavily involved with the practice of medicine. So we try to think of ways to stop this. Restrict gifts and consultant fees to doctors; decrease, or at least separate, industry funding from research; and, of course, no more reps in doctors' offices.

These all sound like great ideas, how could you even come up with an argument against any of them?

Here goes.

As a bonus, I even offer a practical long term solution.

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August 13, 2008