Drug Companies

July 2008

Viagra Benefits Women on Antidepressants: Study

newser | Los Angeles Times | Jul 23, 08 12:30 PM CDT

Viagra increases sexual performance in women suffering from arousal problems as a result of antidepressant drugs, a study finds. Some 72% of the women in the small study—funded by Pfizer, which makes the pill that has become a blockbuster for men seeking improved sexual function—noted an improvement, compared with 27% of those given a placebo, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »
Roche Makes Genentech Takeover Bid

newser | Wall Street Journal | Jul 21, 08 6:55 AM CDT

Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche today offered $43.7 billion for the outstanding shares of Genentech, the San Francisco-based biotech firm in which Roche already owns a 55.9% stake, the Wall Street Journal reports. The $89-a-share offer is the latest in a series of big pharma companies, whose new drug development has been lagging, stepping up investment in the more productive biotech sector. More »
Parkinson's Drugs Trigger Compulsive Behavior

newser | Chicago Tribune | Jul 14, 08 1:14 PM CDT

Drugs for Parkinson's disease can be enormously beneficial, relieving patients' tremors and rigid muscles. But some patients are now complaining of an unusual side effect—extreme compulsive behavior. One woman began taking Mirapex to combat symptoms and suddenly found herself with a $200-a-day scratch-off lottery ticket habit, reports the Chicago Tribune . More »
FDA Orders Urgent Warning About Cipro

newser | Associated Press | Jul 8, 08 3:09 PM CDT

The FDA today mandated urgent “black box” warning labels on Cipro and other antibiotics of the powerful flouroquinolone family of drugs. The antibiotics carry a risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture, which could leave patients severely disabled, the AP reports. Particularly vulnerable are those over 60 and patients who have undergone heart, lung, or kidney transplants. More »

June 2008

8 Meds Docs Won't Take

newser | Men's Health | Jun 23, 08 7:55 PM CDT

Some drugs have such serious drawbacks that even doctors won’t take them, Men’s Health reports. The big eight: Advair: Can actually increase the severity of asthma attacks Avandia: Diabetes drug carries risk of heart attack More »
Deal Delays Generic Lipitor Until 2011

newser | New York Times | Jun 18, 08 5:11 PM CDT

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. More »
Alzheimer's Drug Shows Some Promise

newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 17, 08 6:10 PM CDT

A drug currently in experimental trials seems to be effective in battling Alzheimer's disease, the pharmaceutical companies developing it tell the Wall Street Journal . Bapineuzumab—developed by Elan and Wyeth—seems to be helpful in improving cognitive ability in those stricken by the disease, though much more so in patients who don't have a gene that increases risk of the brain disease. More »
Congress: No More Scribbled Scrips, Doc

newser | Chicago Tribune | Jun 12, 08 4:29 PM CDT

Senators from both sides of the aisle are pushing doctors away from their prescription pads and towards electronic prescribing, the Chicago Tribune reports. Politicians and lobbyists hope the new system will cut down on mis-filled prescriptions and harmful, but avoidable, drug interactions. More »
How Congress Can Help Ted Kennedy

newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 11, 08 8:00 AM CDT

Ted Kennedy has, at best, about two years to live. A drug exists that might extend his life, but Kennedy, and legions of other cancer sufferers, won’t get it because it hasn’t been through Phase III FDA trials. But congress could yet come to the rescue; a bill recently introduced in the Senate would give the terminally ill access to unproven treatments. More »
Cheap Malaria Drug Holds Promise for Millions

newser | Independent (UK) | Jun 4, 08 3:15 AM CDT

The lives of millions of children may be saved by a new technique for producing a malaria drug at a 10th of the cost of current treatments, making it accessible the world's most impoverished people, reports the Independent . The technique involves inserting a dozen synthetic genes into yeast cells, then fermenting them, with sugar, in giant vats, to produce the active ingredient, artemisinin. More »

May 2008

Bone Drug Reduces Breast Cancer Relapse

newser | Bloomberg | May 31, 08 7:21 PM CDT

A drug designed to protect cancer patients' bones also renders breast cancer relapses less likely, a new study says. Funded in part by the drug's maker, Novartis, researchers found that even two injections of Zometa a year cut tumor recurrence by 35% in more than 1,800 pre-menopausal women. More »
Quit-Smoking Drug Linked to Heart Trouble, Dizziness

newser | Wall Street Journal | May 22, 08 7:39 AM CDT

Pfizer smoking-cessation drug Chantix has been linked to nearly a thousand serious incidents in the last quarter of 2007, the Wall Street Journal reports. A report from a drug safety group found that some users of the drug—already linked to depression and suicide—suffered heart trouble, diabetes, or accidents caused by dizziness and confusion. More »
'Experts' Too Often Feeding From Industry Troughs

newser | Slate | May 8, 08 6:41 PM CDT

Media consumers, beware: that assertive, well-versed, trustworthy "expert" may in fact be an industry shill, Shannon Brownlee and Jeanne Lenzer write on Slate. Journalists across the board, and even some radio hosts, are failing to disclose financial ties to various industries—drug companies being a prime example—fudging the line between considered opinion and paid advocacy. More »
Congress to Probe 'Misleading' Drug Ads

newser | Wall Street Journal | May 8, 08 3:10 AM CDT

A congressional panel will examine three ad campaigns as part of a move to tighten regulations on drug companies' direct-to-consumer marketing, the Wall Street Journal reports. The committee will focus on ads for cholesterol drugs Vytorin and Lipitor, and anemia drug Procrit, which has been promoted as an anti-fatigue drug despite FDA demands not to do so. More »

April 2008

Heparin Victims Testify on Hill

newser | Reuters | Apr 29, 08 4:30 PM CDT

Relatives of some of the 81 Americans whose deaths have been linked to tainted heparin told a Congressional subcommittee about their experiences today, Reuters reports. An Ohio man wept as he told lawmakers his wife and son, who had a genetic kidney disease, died within a month after being given heparin while undergoing dialysis. "I want to know if my daughter and the millions of others who continue to receive dialysis are safe," said Leroy Hubley. More »
Serious Side Effects Linked to Avandia, Fosamax

newser | Reuters | Apr 29, 08 2:57 AM CDT

Two new studies have linked the popular prescription drugs Fosamax and Avandia to serious side effects, Reuters reports. Fosamax, prescribed for osteoporosis, has been tied to a type of abnormal heartbeat that can cause dizziness and fatigue. Another study links Avandia, used to treat diabetes, to a double or even triple risk of broken limbs after long-term use. More »
Deadly Heparin Found in 11 Nations

newser | New York Times | Apr 22, 08 7:17 AM CDT

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. More »
Merck Used Ghostwriters to Draft Rosy Vioxx Studies

newser | Wall Street Journal | Apr 15, 08 7:51 PM CDT

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 . More »
Some Docs Snub Handouts From Drug Firms

newser | New York Times | Apr 15, 08 10:43 AM CDT

Academic scientists are retreating from their traditional cushy advisory roles with drug and medical companies or doing work pro bono, the New York Times reports. Researchers offered fees for advice once didn't think twice. “People thought they were suckers if they didn’t,” one med school professor says. But now, many cite concerns over ethics or reputation as reason to give up the cash. More »
Doc: Merck Fudged Minutes of Meeting

newser | Bloomberg | Apr 12, 08 9:33 AM CDT

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. More »