Bad Medicine: A Gift for Drug Makers–Malpractice Bill Shields Drugmakers Sat, 15 Jan 2005 Knowledgable critics – among them practicing physicians, health care analysts, medical journal editors, journalists, and lay citizens–have reached the conclusion that America’s for-profit health care system – which eats up 16% of the budget–has failed to…
Doctors, Too, Ask: Is This Drug Right? Thu, 30 Dec 2004 Much to their professional embarassment, doctors are finding that they have been fed a pack of lies by smooth talking pharmaceutical company sales reps, who persuaded them that the new, and (always) more expensive drugs provided a greater benefit…
What’s a Patient to Think? Prescription for Confusion – NY Times Editorial Tue, 28 Dec 2004 At long last, The New York Times has validated the well-placed anger and frustration that patients feel at having their trust in medicine and the nation’s oversight agents betrayed: “Now I just don’t trust…
Children’s Mental Health in the 108th Congress: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Wed, 15 Dec 2004 AHRP board member, Dr. Karen Effrem, provides a succinct overview of actions – the good, the bad, and the ugly–taken by the 108th Congress will have an impact on children’s health and…
Despite Accutane Suicide Risk, Judge Refuses to make company Memos Public Mon, 31 Jan 2005 Judge James Moody, A federal judge in Tampa, Florida, ruled against plaintiff lawyers who sought to share internal documents belonging to Hoffman-LaRoche that show the company knew about the increased suicide risk associated with the…
Contracts Keep Drug Research Findings Concealed – NY Times Mon, 29 Nov 2004 I. A front page article in the New York Times focuses on academia’s role (culpability) in keeping mum about the unpublished antidepressant clinical trial results. The unnamed focus of the article is the industry-supported American College of…
Bradshaw cancels appearance after SSRI-Citizen Press Release Announced Protest Fri, 13 Aug 2004 FDA’s failure to enforce the law that requires drug companies to tell the truth in their drug advertisements and promotions about the safety and effectiveness of their drugs, has prompted citizen groups to take the initiative and…
FDA Chief Counsel, Daniel Troy, Resigned Wed, 17 Nov 2004 FDA’s chief counsel, Daniel Troy, has resigned! This is good news for consumers. Troy was the symbol of what is rotten at the FDA: the pharmaceutical industry’s influence has ensured that business interests take precedence over public safety. Industry-influenced advisory…
Texas Foster Care Investigation – Children as young as 3 are drugged with antipsychotics Sat, 13 Nov 2004 The Dallas Morning News reports that Texas comptroller, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who hade conducted an investigation of the foster care system, concluded that up to $4 million a year might be wasted…
Complaint to FDA: Pfizer Failed to Disclose Zoloft Suicide Risk in NYT Adverstisement Mon, 1 Nov 2004 ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP) Tel. 212-595-8974 142 West End Ave. Suite 28P Fax: 212-595-9086 New York, NY 10023 www.ahrp.org November 1, 2004 Thomas W. Abrams Director Office…
FDA Protects Pfizer: Removes Advisory Panelist for Citing Evidence Bextra Similar to Vioxx – WSJ Fri, 12 Nov 2004 Even as the Vioxx casualties are still being counted, even as FDA’s conduct is under Congressional investigation, the FDA office of new drugs has taken action to obstruct evidence-based safety evaluation…
FDA Condones False Advertising about anthrax vaccine Thu, 9 Dec 2004 The FDA and the Pentagon are flagrantly violating the law and a U.S. Court ruling. On October 27, 2004, a US Court ordered the Pentagon to suspend its forced anthrax vaccination of military personnel, and the Court ordered the…
