Edited info could mislead those prescribing meds
Wired Nov 26, 08 10:22 AM CST
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Pharmaceutical companies aren't as upfront with doctors as they are with the government about their new products, a study finds. Though drug companies must provide the FDA with all of the data from clinical trials, related papers published in medical journals were found to omit info from 20% of the trials, and were often presented with a favorable twist, Wired reports .
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Flatlining economy threatens breakthrough medical research
Bloomberg Nov 21, 08 1:05 PM CST
(Newser)
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For the first time in years, the biotech industry is in desperate need of a lifeline, Bloomberg reports, as the economic crisis threatens to shove companies into bankruptcy and derail the development of potentially life-saving drugs. “I’m looking down the barrel of a gun,” admitted one CEO. Five such companies declared bankruptcy in the past month, and industry fundraising has dipped 54%.
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Negative outcomes often shelved because they don't boost careers
BusinessWeek Sep 27, 08 4:45 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Fewer than 20% of cancer trial results are published in peer-review journals, a new study says. And industry-sponsored trials only achieve publication one time in 20. The reason? Scientists seeking success and media-hungry journals don't want to publish negative results, analysts say—even if they would aid other cancer studies.
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ANALYSIS
McCain's scorn, growth of government programs behind shift in support
Politico Sep 23, 08 4:43 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Pharmaceutical firms have been a stalwart Republican ally—$22 million of the industry’s $30 billion in contributions went to GOP congressional candidates in 2002—but drug makers are increasingly supporting Democrats, Jeanne Cummings reports in Politico. Programs such as President Bush’s prescription-drug plan mean half of pharmaceutical sales are controlled by the government, and big pharma depends on those programs staying well-funded—familiar territory for Democrats.
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GLOSSIES
Lawmakers lash astronomical hikes in drugs for rare diseases
Portfolio Jul 27, 08 7:37 AM CDT
(Newser)
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In the face of astronomical hikes in the price of drugs used to treat children, a congressional committee is looking into why companies have increased prescription costs as much as 18-fold when related research and marketing expenses are stable, according to lawmakers. One such company charges $69,000 for a three-vial drug treating infantile spasms—while a $15 alternative exists, reports Portfolio .
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MARKETS
Pricier oil, Merck troubles outshine Bank of America's 'success'
MarketWatch Jul 21, 08 3:40 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The markets failed to hold on to early-session gains today as oil rose above $131 per barrel and the overall economic outlook remained downcast, MarketWatch reports. The Dow lost 29.23 points to close at 11,467.34, the Nasdaq fell 3.25 to 2,279.53, and the S&P 500 dropped just 0.68, settling at 1,260.00.
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GLOSSIES
The business of pet pharmacology is booming
New York Times Jul 10, 08 7:07 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Americans spent $49 billion on their pets last year, with an ever-growing percentage paying for treatment of behavioral issues with tailor-made psychotropics, reports James Vlahos in the New York Times Magazine . Frustrated owners are feeding dogs drugs like Reconcile—beef-flavored Prozac—-for "mental illnesses that eerily resemble human ones," from separation anxiety to compusive disorder. There are even doggy diet pills.
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OPINION
It's too easy for drug companies to skirt lax academic regulations
Chronicle of Higher Education Jun 22, 08 6:07 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Weak legislation allows professors to collect huge under-the-table payments from Big Pharma, and it’s time to fight back, Dan Greenberg writes in the Chronicle of Higher Education . Pharmaceutical companies pay professors to shill drugs and lend their names to industry research, and the only oversight is an honor-system mechanism requiring profs to report outside income to the university—not to a federal agency.
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Pact with Indian drug maker stands to net billions for Pfizer
New York Times Jun 18, 08 5:11 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Pfizer has struck a deal with an Indian generic drug maker to delay a cheaper version of Lipitor in the US until November 2011. The agreement limiting generic versions of the cholesterol-lowering drug will translate into billions more in profits for Pfizer, the New York Times reports. Lipitor, the world's best-selling medicine, costs about $3 a day; a generic version will likely be less than $1.
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FDA traces tainted Chinese blood thinner that killed 81
New York Times Apr 22, 08 7:17 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The FDA has traced a contaminated blood thinner from a Chinese factory to 11 countries, the New York Times reports. Severe reactions to the contaminated heparin have been linked to the deaths of 81 Americans, but it wasn't immediately clear if the drug may have triggered fatalities in other countries. Chinese officials have denied that the contamination caused any deaths and have demanded to be allowed to inspect the US plant where the heparin was packaged.
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Company downplayed risks in medical articles on drug found to be a killer
Wall Street Journal Apr 15, 08 7:51 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Merck used its own ghostwriters to draft articles minimizing risks of its drug Vioxx, then found medical researchers to lend their names to the research, the Wall Street Journal reports. Merck, which pulled the painkiller from shelves four years ago over heart-attack risks, rejects the claims as "misleading." They appear in tomorrow's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association .
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Vytorin probe challeges firm's account of delay in trial results
Bloomberg Apr 12, 08 9:33 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Merck's "minutes" of a meeting of heart doctors discussing cholesterol drug Vytorin were created a month after the meeting and distorted the viewpoints of the experts, one panel member changes. The drug company submitted the document to congressional investigators probing its two-year delay in releasing a report saying the drug didn't work any better than a much cheaper generic one, Bloomberg reports.
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