Consumer Reports says that older, not newer, drugs are better for those with Type-2 diabetes. New, heavily advertised drugs such as “Avandia and Actos” are more expensive but not more effective. Older drugs are also as safe “if not safer” than the new drugs.
pharma
Get Your $100 Paxil Refund
By 7.12.07
US Citizens have until August 31 to claim a $100 refund if you bought Paxil for someone under the age of 18.
Kmart Adds 70 Drugs To Its $15 Generic Drug Program
By 7.11.07
Now covered by the 90-Day Generics Program are nearly 70 new generic medications, including 17 different formulations of popular generic prescription prenatal vitamins, a larger selection than other generic programs
At $5 a month, Kmart’s program is still more expensive than Walmart’s $4 a month program, but instead of going to Walmart every month, Kmart offers a 90 day supply for $15. Presuming, of course, that you can locate a Kmart.
Death Sentence For Corrupt Chinese Drug Official
By 7.6.07
China has sentenced a high ranking official to death on charges of corruption, reports the New York Times. Cao Wenzhuang is accused of accepting over $300,000 in bribes from pharmacutical companies in exchange for approving bogus drugs. Mr.Cao is the second Chinese offical to be sentenced to death for corruption in less than 2 months.
"Transition In Coverage" Was Transition To Insurance Hell For Seizure Patient Running Out Of Pills
By 6.27.07
I recently had a change in health benefits and Pacificare was the provider. I am using the corporate names because it is unconscionable what they have done and I do not wish to protect the guilty. To be brief my wife suffered a stroke 3 years ago and takes seizure medication 5 times daily.
Air Traveler With Drug Resistant TB Quarantined By CDC
By 5.30.07
Drug-resistant TB is both extremely contagious and potentially fatal, and the CDC would like to speak with anyone who sat near a passenger who has since been quarantined with the illness. The passenger was on a May 13, Atlanta to Paris, Air France 385 flight and another Czech Air 0104 from Prague to Canada on May 23.
Drug Company VP Admits New Diet Drug Made Him Crap His Pants
By 5.24.07
“You may feel an urgent need to go to the bathroom. Until you have a sense of your treatment effects, it’s probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work. “
There’s nothing to be ashamed about. Even GSK VP Steve Burton admitted to having “one experience like that.” Oily rectal spotting, you are just the price we must pay for thinness. Well, that… and $1 a day. —MEGHANN MARCO
FDA Approves Birth Control That Eliminates Periods
By 5.23.07
The FDA has just approved a new type of birth control pill that totally eliminates your period, according to the WSJ. Trouble is, that idea freaks some consumers out. According to the WSJ Health Blog about half of women polled “agreed with the statement that their period comforts them because ‘it lets me know I am not pregnant.'” Poppycock, we say! Buy a pregnancy test.
Duane Reade Sucks As A Pharmacy, Target Is Pretty Good
By 4.19.07
According to JD Power and associates survey of pharmacies, that blight on New York City, Duane Reade, placed last in the rankings of chain pharmacies. From the WSJ Health Blog:The results are based on an online survey of 6,543 U.S. consumers conducted last fall.
Drug Safety Bill Would Limit Direct To Consumer Advertising
By 4.18.07
Supporters of a new bill working its way through Congress say that limiting the amount of direct to consumer advertising in the first two years of a drug’s life would help insure that drugs are safe before patients are encouraged to seek prescriptions from their doctors.
Watch Out For The "Super Clap"; Drug Resistant Gonorrhea Is Going Around
By 4.13.07
No new antibiotics for gonorrhea are in the pipeline, officials of the centers told reporters by telephone.
Controversial Ad Implies Celebrex Is As Safe As OTC Painkillers
By 4.10.07
A new ad for Celebrex, a prescription painkiller related to Vioxx, has come under fire for implying that Celebrex is as safe as non-prescription painkillers such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve.) A consumer group has written a letter to the FDA requesting that they ban the ad, claiming that it contains “false or misleading statements.”
“The overall purpose of the ad is to make it appear, contrary to scientific evidence, that the cardiovascular dangers of Celebrex are not greater than those of any of the other Nsaid painkillers,” the letter said, referring to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. “Further, it asserts that certain gastrointestinal problems are, if anything, less frequent with Celebrex than with two popular over-the-counter (OTC) painkillers.”
The ad, which is two-and-a-half minutes long (Pfizer was the only sponsor of the program on which it aired), can be viewed at Celebrex.com. The ad marks Celebrex’s return to advertising after a two year hiatus following Vioxx’s withdrawal from the market due to dangerous cardiovascular side-effects.
Sudafed PE: Pregnant Women Should Watch Out For Reformulated Medicines
By 4.6.07
Not to malign the good name of Sudafed, but it seems there is some debate out there as to whether or not pregnant women should take the reformulated “Sudafed PE.” Obviously, we are in no way doctors, nor do we know the first damn thing about pregnant woman, but we do know that several medicines have reformulated in order to stay on the shelves and we wanted to make sure people knew about it. Because Sudafed contains an ingredient used to make meth, some states now require it to be stored behind the pharmacist’s counter. Reasonable enough. The confusion comes in when people don’t realize that the new “on-the-shelf” Sudafed contains different ingredients than the old Sudafed.
Fen-Phen Lawyers Run Off With $126 Million of $200 Million Settlement
By 3.27.07
W. L. Carter knew there was something fishy going on when he went to his lawyers’ office a few years ago to pick up his settlement check for the heart damage he had sustained from taking the diet drug combination fen-phen.
Doctors Who Have "Close Relationships" With Drug Makers Prescribe Newer, Pricier Drugs
By 3.21.07
“When honest human beings have a vested stake in seeing the world in a particular way, they’re incapable of objectivity and independence,” said Max H. Bazerman, a professor at Harvard Business School. “A doctor who represents a pharmaceutical company will tend to see the data in a slightly more positive light and as a result will overprescribe that company’s drugs.”
In Minnesota, a state in which drug company payouts are disclosed to the public, “More than 250 … psychiatrists together earned $6.7 million in drug company money — more than any other specialty. Seven of the last eight presidents of the Minnesota Psychiatric Society have served as consultants to drug makers, according to the Times examination.”
Generics Aren't Always That Much Cheaper
By 3.15.07
Generics meds are supposed to be a cheaper alternative to name-brand drugs, but a recent Wall Street Journal found that there wasn’t as much difference as you might think. — BEN POPKEN
FDA to Review Children's Cold Remedies
By 3.2.07
The agency has for decades promised to review systematically the safety of all old drugs, but for a variety of reasons like budgetary constraints, time and popularity of a particular drug has not done so.
We, like the reader who sent this story in, find it troubling that “popularity” is a factor in deciding whether or not to review the safety of a drug. The New York Times doesn’t explain in detail what is meant by this quote, but we’re hard pressed to think of any explanations that would make us say, “Wow, that’s really awesome.”
FDA Approves Drug For Carsick Dogs
By 3.1.07
The FDA said the drug, Cerenia, is the first to prevent and treat vomiting in dogs. When used in tablet form, the Pfizer Inc. drug can prevent vomiting associated with motion sickness, the FDA said. The agency also approved an injectable form of the drug, known generically as maropitant citrate, that it said can prevent and treat acute vomiting due to chemotherapy, parvovirus, kidney disease, pancreatitis and other causes.
