Zolft pediatric study in JAMA challenged by peers – JAMA letters Fri, 9 Jan 2004 At the time that two manufacturers publicly acknowledged that their antidepressant drugs (Paxil / Seroxat and Effexor) were unsafe, and ineffective for children, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a clinical trial…
Just Say NO to (Legal) Drugs_The Other War on Drugs_WSJ Feb 13, 2003 For the second time in 24 hours, the FDA has approved an anti-depressant to treat a new “ailment”–social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia. On February 10 Zoloft was approved for this ailment, and on the…
Trial Lawyers Are Taking Aim at the Drug Industry_NYT Sun, 18 May 2003 It appears that trial lawyers will produce the results that government oversight agencies–in particular, the FDA–have failed to do. Namely, to protect the public against an increasing number of unsafe drugs. The pharmaceutical industry whose efforts to…
FDA Scientist Won’t Present New Pain Drug Data – FDA to Create Independent Drug Safety Board Tue, 15 Feb 2005 A culture of intimidation prevents FDA safety officers from disclosing important safety information about widely marketed drugs. Reuters reports: “Criticism of how the FDA monitors the after-market safety of drugs…
Federal Court (Illinois) Rejects FDA-Daniel Troy Preemption Argument Fri, 11 Nov 2005 In yet another federal case (Zikis v Pfizer) involving the company’s failure to warn physicians and the public about the increased risk of suicide effects for pediatric patients prescribed Zoloft, the court rejected Pfizer’s argument that it didn’t need to war…
Cholesterol lowering drug, Crestor Linked to Patient Death Tue, 11 Jan 2005 Crestor, a highly advertised cholesterol-lowering drug in the statin class–as was Bayer’s drug Baycol, which was withdrawn from market after 30 patients died of rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of skeletal muscle fibers), has been linked to a patient’s death. “AstraZeneca…
Member of UK Parliament Accuses Drugs Giant of ‘Voodoo Medicine’ – Scotsman Wed, 25 Feb 2004 Paul Flynn, Member of UK Parliament raised the antidepressant drug scandal in Parliament, focusing on the British drug manufacturer giant, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). “The Seroxat [Paxil] scandal is one of gigantic proportions that affects millions…
NIH: Public Servant or Private Marketer? Wed, 22 Dec 2004 David Willman of the Los Angeles Times provides an important reminder that the FDA is not the only government healthcare agency to have betrayed the public trust and lost its credibility. While the FDA has lent its seal of approval…
NY Times Does it Again – Drug Advertisers Get Front Page Coverage to Boost SSRI Market Wed, 2 Jun 2004 The New York Times saw fit to print a report about preliminary, unpublished findings of a study whose authors claim to have “found that Prozac helps teenagers overcome depression far…
Antidepressant Makers Withhold Data on Children – Washington Post Thu, 29 Jan 2004 A front page article in The Washington Post addresses the key issue undermining public health and safety. Drug companies conceal unfavorable clinical trial findings: the tests failed to demonstrate that antidepressants are either safe or beneficial for…
APA Under the Influence of PhaRma June 5, 2002 FYI Reporters who attended the 2002 annual convention of the American Association of Psychiatry / PhaRma have had a rude awakening about the scope of industry’s influence. Essentially, psychiatrists are drug marketers for industry, helping to create blockbuster sales: Even…
Leading Antipsychotic Drugs Come Under New Scrutiny – NYT Tuesday, May 20, 2003 A front page article in The New York Times reveals that the pillars of American psychiatry–including Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, Dr. John Kane, Dr. William Carpenter–are acknowledging that evidence is lacking to support the claims that the new…
