“Black Hole” of medical research–Negative Results Don’t get Published – JAMA, WSJ Sat, 5 Jun 2004 “No one likes bad news. But in science, there is an ethical imperative to publish research, even if the findings aren’t what the researcher had hoped for.” The New York Times, which tends to…
Guardian Reports: MHRA to Issue New SSRI Restrictions Mon, 14 Jun 2004 The Guardian reports that the British Committee on safety and Medicines, which was first to issue warnings about the potential suicidal risk for children prescribed an antidepressant of the SSRI class, are now about to issue similar warnings…
Paxil induced suicides in US quantified_Glaxo Faces criminal action in UK over “suicide” pills_Times Mon, 7 Jun Law enforcement is finally catching up with drug companies who, for years, concealed evidence of a drug-related suicide risk for some children and adults who take an antidepressant. The law requires the companies…
Bad Medicine – Editorial – Guardian UK Sat, 12 Jun 2004 New York State Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer, is being recognized as a hero on both sides of the Atlantic. That’s because, unlike FDA officials, he knows how to use a “smoking gun” to affect change in corporate practices to…
Response to Washington Post Editorial Wed, 30 Jun 2004 Today’s Washington Post editorial, Missing Drug Data, is divorced from reality. It is written by someone who clearly doesn’t understand the safety issues involved when doctors are kept ignorant of the risks of prescribing drugs that expose patients to severe adverse…
NY Times Does it Again – Drug Advertisers Get Front Page Coverage to Boost SSRI Market Wed, 2 Jun 2004 The New York Times saw fit to print a report about preliminary, unpublished findings of a study whose authors claim to have “found that Prozac helps teenagers overcome depression far…
Will the Cong Oversight / Investigations Committee Ask FDA the Tough Questions? Wed, 22 Sep 2004 FDA’s complicity in concealing vital drug safety information that might have saved lives, is the subject of tomorrow’s hearing by the House subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Rayburn Office Bldg, room 2123 at 11:00….
FDA Forced Wyeth to REMOVE Suicide Warning from Effexor Label Wed, 8 Sep 2004 The Wall Street Journal reports that FDA officials forced Wyeth to remove the label warning stating: “In pediatric clinical trials, there were increased reports of hostility and, especially in Major Depressive Disorder, suicide-related adverse events such…
GSK Sales Reps told NOT to Divulge Paxil Data / Merck Withdraws Vioxx Thu, 30 Sep 2004 The Associated Press reports: “Merck pulled Vioxx after admitting studies showed the drug raised the risk of heart attack. As recently as August, Merck “strongly” disagreed with studies showing the drug increased heart…
Antipsychotic Drug Use Doubled since 1996 in Tennessee Children – Why? Thu, 2 Sep 2004 A Vanderbilt University study found that the use of antipsychotic drugs has doubled among poor children in Tennessee. “The increase, seen largely among children diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder and affective disorders such…
Black Box Warnings for Antidepressants – What’s Next? Thu, 16 Sep 2004 NY TIMES Quotations of the Day: A. “I think that we now all believe that there is an increase in suicidal thinking and action that is consistent across all the drugs.” Dr. ROBERT TEMPLE, of the Food and…
Warning-Caution – Antidepressant Dilemma – NYT Magazine Mon, 22 Nov 2004 Tolstoy wisely observed: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Suicide is the ultimate tragedy affecting a family; the circumstances surrounding one person’s suicide are not transferable. The cover of Sunday’s New…
