“Profits” / “Prophets”_NYT Editorial: Industry Distortion of the F.D.A. Wed, 8 Dec 2004 A White House transcript of President Bush’s speech at the Christmas tree lighting on Thursday: “We think of the patient hope of men and women across the centuries who listened to the words of the profits and…
Bill would shield some drug firms from punitive damages Wed, 29 Dec 2004 A proposed bill in Congress would be another disincentive for pharmaceutical companies to disclose drug safety problems. Those promoting the bill should be asked to disclose their financial ties to drug companies. In 2000, a mysterious clause…
FDA Strong Drug Ties-Less Monitoring – UK MHRA Mon, 6 Dec 2004 A front page article in The New York Times provides a historical perspective to the shift in FDA’s focus (in 1992) from watchdog safeguarding the public against hazardous drugs, food and medical devices, to its current role as…
A Frustrated Psychiatrist Abandons Her Practice to Get Out from under “Evaluating and Medicating" Mon, 20 Dec 2004 Dr. Karen Stevenson writes: “My job is to pronounce the name of the disorder and to write the prescription to fill it. I receive financial incentives to ‘evaluate and to medicate’ as…
Doctor calls President’s mental health Screening Initiative “Crazy” – UPI Thu, 23 Dec 2004 Dr. Jane Orient, the Executive Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, has written a brilliant, clear-eyed blistering commentary–Are Your Children Crazy? America’s 52 million school children and 6 million staff are the first…
Family of Woman Killed by AIDS Drug Test Sues Doctors, Manufacturer Thu, 30 Dec 2004 The case of Joyce Anne Hafford’s death sheds light on collusion to conceal evidence of harm caused by experimental drugs. USA Today reports: “Family members said they did not learn the National Institutes of Health…
Leading ADHD Researcher Blows Whistle on Concerta & CHADD Fri, 3 Dec 2004 A newly released report by the Center for Disease Control – Health US 2004–reveals how effective the pharmaceutical industry is in marketing its drugs – whether or not they are beneficial; whether or not they cause severe…
Worldwide Drug Industry Ailing – PhaRMA Giants Reeling Blockbuster Drugs Found Hazardous Sat, 18 Dec 2004 Daily headlines provide confirmatory evidence supporting what critics of the drug industry have been say:ing for years. First, as The New York Times notes in one of its 4 articles about the latest “unexpected”…
Big Pharma’s Dirty Little Secret Mon, 27 Dec 2004 Dr. Peter Rost, Vice-President marketing, Pfizer, has taken a principled stand by speaking out against his industry’s “drity little secrets:” “Our dirty little secret is that the drug industry already sells its products, right here in the U.S., at the same…
British Medical Journal: Something is rotten at the heart of FDA / Glaxo faces class action suit Sun, 5 Dec 2004 “Something is rotten at the heart of the FDA.” That’s the opening of an editorial in the British Medical Journal. [1] Indeed, there is something rotten at the heart…
NYSOMH Issues Alerts, Guidelines re Antidepressant Use in Children, Teens Wed, 29 Dec 2004 The NYS Office of Mental Health has issued letters and an advisory to state mental health providers “explaining” FDA’s warning and the use of antidepressants in children. As you will note, OMH downplays the meaning of…
TONIGHT ABC “PRIMETIME LIVE” INVESTIGATION reveals evidence that drug makers suppressed antidepressant info Thu, 9 Dec 2004 At least 100 children have committed suicide while on an SSRI antidepressant, hundreds more have attempted suicide. Tonight at 10:00 PM, ABC Prime Time Live will reveal internal company documents that show how…
