FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford Resigns – AP Fri, 23 Sep 2005 The Associated Press reports that the embattled FDA commissioner, Lester Crawford, a veterenarian, who headed the agency since Marc McLellan moved over to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, has resigned effective immediately. Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav 212-595-8974…
Rutherford Files Mental Health Screening Lawsuit_Indiana / Fierce Opposition to TeenScreen Mounts – Pittsburgh Mon, 19 Sep 2005 The Rutherford Institute has just filed a lawsuit in Indiana challenging a school for subjecting a teenager to a mental health screening test – TeenScreen–without her parents’ knowledge or consent. After completing…
Failed Drug Treatments for Schizophrenia–Letters to the Editor – NYT Fri, 23 Sep 2005 Letters to the NY Times editor (below) demonstrate the combative reaction of stakeholders in the psychotropic drug industry to the evidence-based overthrow of psychiatry’s treatment recommendations. Psychiatrists who have financial contracts with psychotropic drug manfuacturers, have…
Bayh-Dole Act: The Law of Unintended Consequences – Fortune Sun, 25 Sep 2005 The author of this Infomail is Dianne N. Irving, M.A., Ph.D. Revisiting the Bayh-Dole Act (1980): Spawned Big Biotech, Now Has Opposite Debilitating Effects Today’s specter of harmful and inordinately priced drugs pressed on legislators and the…
Addicted to Legal Prescription Drugs Mon, 26 Sep 2005 “My addiction may be to legal, prescribed medication, but I am no better than the heroin junkie on the street or the celebrity crack addict,” said Mrs Jeanne Rankin, one of Britain’s leading cooks. Her addiciton began when she was prescribed…
Prologue Selling sickness by Ray Moynihan and Alan Cassels Thirty years ago the head of one of the world’s best-known drug companies made some very candid comments. Close to retirement at the time, Merck’s aggressive chief executive Henry Gadsden told Fortune magazine of his distress that the company’s potential markets…
212% Increase in Prescription Drug Abuse by US Teens – Australian critics challenge loose prescribers Tue, 27 Sep 2005 Psychiatric prescription drugs have “run amok”: two reports (July, August) by Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, or CASA, confirm an epidemic of prescription drug abuse among teenagers:…
Major Drug Effectiveness Review Found “Little Evidence” that ADHD drugs are safe or effective Tue, 13 Sep 2005 On paper, drug manufacturers MUST demonstrate with scientific evidence that a drug is safe and effective–if they want to gain to gain FDA approval. The burden of proof is on the manufacturer….
Marcia Angell: The Body Hunters & The Constant Gardner Mon, 19 Sep 2005 Marcia Angell’s insightful and informative review of the film and John le Carre’s book, The Constant Gardner, needs no additional commentary: "On the basis of the research I did for my book I believe that most of…
Lilly to Add Suicide Warning to Strattera – Medicaid May shrink $5.5 Billion spending on Schizophrenia Drug Thu, 29 Sep 2005 Reuters reports that Eli Lilly is adding a Black Box suicide warning to the Strattera label. Strattera has been promoted as a “non stimulant” treatment for ADHD. Since ADHD…
How to earn promotions in pharmaceutical industry Tue, 6 Sep 2005 In the world of pharmaceuticals, careers are made by marketing the worst products that cause the greatest harm. Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav 212-595-8974 XenoPort Appoints Gary D. Tollefson, Former Lilly Executive, to Board Company Snapshot: XNPThttp://www.xenoport.com SANTA CLARA, Calif.,…
UK Doctors told to stop giving antidepressants to children – Glaxo Warns of Paxil Birth Defects Wed, 28 Sep 2005 Related Link – See Guidelines at: http://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=273073 The UK National Health Service has taken a decisive, responsible step to protect the lives of children who are being exposed to serious risks…
