Spitzer Expands drug Probe: Johnson & Johnson / New FDA analysis Confirms SSRI Risks to Kids – WSJ Thu, 5 Aug 2004 A front page article in The Wall Street Journal reports that a second FDA analysis of 25 clinical trials of SSRI antidepressants in children was conducted after a…
Prescription Drug Industfry: The Insiders – AARP Bulletin Wed, 10 Nov 2004 Three pharmaceutical industry insiders blow the whistle in one of the most important articles you’ll ever read about the unethical marketing of prescription drugs. Peter Rost, M.D, a top marketing executive at Pfizer, Arthur Kuebel, a salesman who…
FDA Asks Antidepressant drug companies to add Cautions on labels Mon, 22 Mar 2004 The FDA has “requested” drug companies to put prominent warnings on the labels of 10 antidepressant drugs, “to include stronger cautions and warnings about the need to monitor patients for the worsening of depression and the…
Wyeth Pharma Warns Doctors Against Rx Effexor to Kids Tue, 2 Sep 2003 View Wyeth Warning Letter The Hartford Courant reports that the latest warning against prescribing an antidepressant drug for children comes from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, makers of Effexor, a drug just like Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil–a class known as…
AHRP Campaign to Protect Children from Harm Oct 15: FDA Orders Black Box Warnings on Antidepressants labels and Patient Information Guides to Warn about Suicide risk Oct 3: BBC PANORAMA TONIGHT – Taken on Trust – 13 years-Medical Deception Sep 30: GSK Sales Reps told NOT to Divulge Paxill Data…
A Serious Drug Problem – The Medicare Prescription Bill of 2003 – Krugman Fri, 6 May 2005 New York Times columnist, Paul Krugman, hits the nail on the head when he points out who the beneficiaries of the Medicare law really are: Why it’s Big Pharma and those this industry…
Protecting Editorial Integrity – Dr. Stefan Kreuszewski BMJ Sun, 6 Feb 2005 In his BMJ editorial, “A tough nut to crack,” Kamran Abassi writes: “The drug industry considers the BMJ a tough nut to crack,” an insider recently told us. Publishing a “favourable” research paper is far trickier in the…
At FDA, Graham is still the whistle-blower – USA Today Thu, 17 Nov 2005 On Nov. 18, 2004, Dr. David Graham, FDA’s associate director for science and medicine, blew the whistle in testimony before the Senate Finance Committee, on FDA’s “profound regulatory failure” to protect the public against lethal prescription…
FDA says it Screened Panelists for Conflicts of Interest Tue, 1 Mar 2005 Bloomberg News reports that the Center for Science in the Public Interest had identified not 10, but 27 panelists on FDA’s advisory panel who had financial ties to drug manufacturers. Last week The New York Times reported…
Fast growing business: Unethical clinical trials in India – Asia Times Tue, 27 Jul 2004 Asia Times reports: “India increasingly emerges as a preferred destination for outsourcing clinical trials – testing of new drugs on humans – the country may also be heading toward providing the greatest source of human…
Drug safety Hearings-Sept-Congress/ FDA – Lilly Plans to Disclose Data Tue, 3 Aug 2004 A hearing about the possible connection between suicide and antidepressant drugs will be held on Aug 4, by the California Senate by Sen. Tom Torkalson, chairman of the Senate Task Force on Youth and Workplace Wellness…
Warning-Caution – Antidepressant Dilemma – NYT Magazine Mon, 22 Nov 2004 Tolstoy wisely observed: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Suicide is the ultimate tragedy affecting a family; the circumstances surrounding one person’s suicide are not transferable. The cover of Sunday’s New…
