Not-So-Public-Relations: Drug Industry & Bioethics – is it casuistry or sophistry?

Not-So-Public-Relations: Drug Industry & Bioethics – is it casuistry or sophistry? Fri, 19 Dec 2003 Carl Elliott is a clear eyed academic who teaches bioethics at the University of Minnesota . He is currently a visiting associate professor at School of Social Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton….

FDA Statement Regarding Anti-Depressant Paxil for Children

FDA Statement Regarding Anti-Depressant Paxil for Children Thu, 19 Jun 2003 A knowledgeable critic suggested that the FDA was pushed into action, but the action (Statement below) is weak. Evidence about the risks of antidepressants such as Paxil (Seroxat) have been linked to severe withdrawal symptoms which are a sign…

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AHRP Speaks Out AHRP Press Briefing 9/14/04: Antidepressants & suicide-related risks for children Open Letter to NIMH re Prozac & Concealed Suicide Attempts Open Letter to Officials at NIMH AHRP Briefing 2/2/04: Scientists present suicide evidence Conflicts of Interest policy – New York Times Phase I Drug Trials Used Foster…

Infomail Archive 2004

Infomail 2004 News Stories on Human Research Protection and Commentary by Vera Hassner Sharav Dec 31: FDA to review “missing” drug company documents Dec 30: Family of Woman Killed by AIDS Drug Test Sues Doctors, Manufacturer Dec 30: Doctors, Too, Ask: Is This Drug Right? Dec 29: Bill would shield…

FDA Requests Anticonvulsant Suicide Data Analysis – Boston Globe

FDA Requests Anticonvulsant Suicide Data Analysis – Boston Globe Wed, 20 Apr 2005 Thanks to the persistent advocacy efforts of attorney, Andrew Finkelstein, the FDA has finally sent letters to 14 manufacturers of anticonvulsant drugs, such as Pfizer’s Neurontin, to examine the suicide data from these drugs. Finkelstein began his…

Suicide Rate Unchanged in 10 Years–JAMA / AMA Considers Stand Against Warning Labels on Antidepressants

Suicide Rate Unchanged in 10 Years–JAMA / AMA Considers Stand Against Warning Labels on Antidepressants Thu, 9 Jun 2005 A major report in the Journal of the American Medical Association shatters all claims about the effectiveness of antidepressants as a treatment for the prevention of suicide. A comparison of the…

Antidepressant Use in Children Soars Despite Efficacy Doubts – Washington Post

Antidepressant Use in Children Soars Despite Efficacy Doubts – Washington Post Mon, 19 Apr 2004 A front page article by Shankar Vedantam in The Washington Post examines the soaring increase in the antidepressant drug prescriptions for children, noting: “The explosion in antidepressant use occurred even though the vast majority of…

Family of Woman Killed by AIDS Drug Test Sues Doctors, Manufacturer

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…

Pharma Efforts to Bar Placebo Responders from Trials – WSJ

Pharma Efforts to Bar Placebo Responders from Trials – WSJ Fri, 25 Jun 2004 A clinical trial report in The Lancet debunks the value of Aricept, a popular drug prescribed for Alzheimer’s patients. The findings of a three-year placebo controlled trial show that: “Although the patients taking the drug did…

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Cancer Trials: 60% to 70% of subjects are children – WSJ

July 26, 2002 Cancer Trials: 60% to 70% of subjects are children – Wall Street Journal The Wall Street Journal reports that there is a shortage of people volunteering to test experimental cancer drugs. “Overall, only 3% to 4% of cancer patients participate in trials. Most of those participants are…

UK issues ban on second SSRI antidepressant for children

UK issues ban on second SSRI antidepressant for children Sun, 21 Sep 2003 The UK Observer reports (below) that although antidepressant drugs of the SSRI class have not been approved for children, last year doctors (who are unaware of the severe risks associated with SSRIs) wrote 170,000 prescriptions of antidepressants…