W. Virginia Charges Merck, Medco
West Virginia’s attorney general sued Merck & Co. and its Medco Health Solutions pharmacy-benefits subsidiary, charging that Merck and Medco steered state employees to higher-priced drugs including Merck products and kept rebates from drug companies that should have been passed on to the state. THE LAWSUIT, FILED in the … [Read more...]
Eleven Latin American Nations Join Together to Pressure Drug Companies Into Lowering Prices
Health Ministers Meeting With Drug Companies. Encouraged by Brazil’s aggressive approach to the problem of soaring drug prices, eleven Latin American health ministers are meeting with AIDS drugs manufacturing companies in an attempt to cooperatively negotiate lower prices. The countries hope that by combining their purchasing … [Read more...]
Doctor Urges FDA not to Loosen Restrictions on Drug Company Marketing
A Harvard medical professor has urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) against easing the restrictions on drug companies marketing their drugs for uses for which they have not been approved—so-called off-label use. During the summer of 2015 the FDA will hold a public meeting to discuss whether restrictions on what claims … [Read more...]
Mis-marketing of Drugs Cost Billions, Endangers Health
A new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) describes the high costs associated with the mis-marketing of prescription drugs, both in dollars and in health consequences. Spending on prescription drugs has consistently been the fastest growing component of health care spending, with $373.6 billion spent on … [Read more...]
Is the FDA Protecting Drug Companies Instead of Patients?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) exists to protect public health, but oftentimes the agency appears to be protecting drug companies rather than patients, according to an article published in Slate. Charles Seife, a journalist and professor at New York University, says that the agency repeatedly hides evidence of fraud in … [Read more...]
Drug Companies & Continuing Medical Education
Drug Companies Bribing Doctors To Prescribe Drugs. A report released last month by the Senate Finance Committee revealed a dirty little secret about pharmaceutical marketing. Drug companies are bribing doctors to prescribe certain medications. But pharmaceutical companies are not exactly slipping physicians envelopes stuffed with … [Read more...]
Drug Cos. Said Slow on Follow-Up Studies
Drug Companies Are Dragging Their Feet On Follow-Up Studies. Drug companies are dragging their feet on follow-up studies on drugs that receive accelerated approval from the Food and Drug Administration, Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., charged Tuesday. Markey said that of 91 post-marketing studies required by the FDA, 42 have not been … [Read more...]
