US Research Community May Take Lessons in Medical Ethics from Cambodian Prostitutes Thu, 12 Aug 2004 The US medical research community may have to take lessons in medical ethics from Cambodian prostitutes. A clinical trial to test a drug used to treat HIV, Viread, for the prevention of AIDS, was…
Meta-Analysis: Efficacy & Safety of Antidepressants for Children – Brit Medical Journal Sat, 10 Apr 2004 As news of skyrocketing prescribing of antidepressants for children–especially in preschool children–hit the news waves around the world, a major meta-analysis of the 5 published pediatric antidepressant studies was published in the British Medical…
More than 100 top regulatory officials represented industry as lobbyists, lawyers… – Denver Post Mon, 24 May 2004 To understand why government policies affecting healthcare, drug safety, food safety and the environment appear to promote industry interests at the expense of public safety and health, the Denver Post has investigated…
Paxil for Children: Safety, Efficacy Aren’t Established – Letter WSJ Fri, 9 Jul 2004 Dr. Arnold Relman, Professor Emeritus, Medicine and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and former editor of The New England Journal of Medicine, responds to a June 21 editorial in The Wall Street Journal. The editorial attacked…
Philadelphia Daily News Pharma Influence: Penn Psychiatrist Files Whistleblower Lawsuit – Investigtion Confirms Medicare Chief Lied to Congress Wed, 7 Jul 2004 “Drug companies not only write checks to hospitals, they write checks to politicians…They write checks to both sides of the aisle.” Two separate news reports provide a glimpse…
Serono to pay $704 million for Illegal Marketing AIDS drug and “voodoolike” clinical trials – NYT Thu, 20 Oct 2005 Another scandal involving corrupt criminal marketing by a bio-pharmaceutical company that illegally marketed an AIDS test and drug by enlisting physicians to prescribe its drug. The New York Times reports…
Researcher Who Challenged ADHD industry cleared of misconduct charges Sun, 16 Oct 2005 If you thought that academia could not prey to McCarthyite bullying tactics–or could not possibly fall prey to anything like the Salem witch hunts—think again. Dr. Gretchen LeFever, a clinical psychologist and associate professor in the department…
NIH Scientists Caught Concealing Millions in Royalties for Experimental Treatments – AP Tue, 11 Jan 2005 The Associated Press has uncovered evidence of scientists and administrators at the National Institutes of Health flagrantly disregarding ethical and legal requirements of financial disclosure: "In all, 916 current and former NIH researchers are…
Disingenous Remarks from AMA President on Tort Reform – letter BMJ / NYT Test a Lawyer’s Ingenuity Sun, 6 Mar 2005 Responding to an article in the BMJ about President Bush’s bill to restrict class action suits for medical malpractice-http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7490/499-c – the president of the American Medical Association, Dr. John…
Ritalin: Chromosome Abnormalities Occured in All 12 Children / High school prescription drug abuse Fri, 11 Mar 2005 Parents and public health policy makers have cause for concern about the finding of a study conducted at the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center. WebMD reports that all 12 children…
House Votes to Prevent Pharma-tied Scientists on FDA Advisory Panels Thu, 9 Jun 2005 The House passed an amendment introduced by Congressman Maurice Hinchey (NY) to rein in pharmaceutical industry influence on FDA advisory panels whose recdommendations have resulted in the approval of lethal drugs. Below Merrill Goozner write: “The…
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…
