Practice Guidelines: Can We Trustthe Evidence in Evidence-Based Medicine? Sun, 25 Sep 2005 “Research and Clinical Practice Guidelines: Can We Trust the Evidence in Evidence-Based Medicine?” is an article by Dr. John Abramson* (Harvard) and Dr. Barbara Starfeld (Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins), published in the Journal of the American Board…
Lies & Broken Promises_Drug firm Websites Fail to Disclose Test Data Sun, 9 Jan 2005 One year after PhRMA’s publicized proclamation of its “commitment to transparency” The Boston Globe reviewed pharmaceutical company websites searching for disclosure of clinical trial data. The Globe found that this voluntary approach failed miserably: “Last…
Prescriptions for antidepressant declined 10% Thu, 13 May 2004 The controversy over the safety of antidepressant drugs is broadening. The Newark Star Ledger reports a drop in antidepressant prescriptions since the Feb 2 FDA advisory committee meeting. Disclosure of long concealed evidence about the severe adverse drug effects–as well as…
Bill would shield some drug firms from punitive damages Wed, 29 Dec 2004 A proposed bill in Congress would be another disincentive for pharmaceutical companies to disclose drug safety problems. Those promoting the bill should be asked to disclose their financial ties to drug companies. In 2000, a mysterious clause…
NIH Under Fire: Longtime Favorite of Congress – Wash Post / WSJ Sun, 27 Jun 2004 Under fire from Congress with evidence of NIH staff engaging in secret outside contracts and consultancies, NIH Director, Dr. Elias Zerhouni, turned a corner. He acknowledged the problem at a hearing (June 22) of…
Screening for Mental Illness–A Diabolical, Profit-Enhancing Experiment Fri, 22 Oct 2004 Concerned citizen groups are joining our effort to stop the government from implementing a sweeping recommendation for lifetime screening for mental illness. If implemented, the first to be screened for hidden mental illness are America’s 52 million school children…
“Schizophrenia Digest” Canadian magazine Tue, 3 Jun 2003 Behold the new marketing promo in the guise of “Inspiration and information”….”Schizophrenia Digest” is touted as a magazine directed at schizophrenia patients and families. The publisher, William J. MacPhee, who claims he is taking an antipsychotic, says, “My personal philosophy is that…
Forbes: Judgment Day for the FDA, Pfizer Wed, 9 Feb 2005 On Feb. 16-18 COX-2 Inhibitor Safety Issues will be the focus of an FDA Advisory Committee and (simultaneously) the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The entire drug industry will be watching with bated breath. Which causal explanation will be offered…
THE IMPACT OF THE FDA MODERNIZATION ACT ON THE RECRUITMENT OF CHILDREN FOR RESEARCH Vera Hassner Sharav Published in ETHICAL HUMAN SCIENCES & SERVICES Summer 2003, vol. 5 pp. 83-108 Abstract This paper argues that contrary to the claims made by the research stakeholders in industry, academia and government, the…
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…
Federal Study Finds No Benefit of New Antipsychotic Drugs – WashPost/Wall StreetJ/NY Times Tue, 20 Sep 2005 The findings of a $44 million government sponsored study, CATIE, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, comparing an older generic antipsychotic to four new atypical antipsychotics, undercut the legitimacy of psychiatry’s…
DHHS Report: Contradicting itself on drug imports – OpEd Peter Rost Wed, 5 Jan 2005 Dr. Peter Rost, a Pfizer Vice-President of Marketing knows about the financial underpinnings of drug pricing. He has taken a consciencious public position (unsusual in that industry) because he believes the American public has a…
