In a Pre-emptive Strike, Amgen & Genentech (Roche) Lobby States to Block Biosimilars
No doubt you've heard of how Amgen essentially paid off U.S. Senators to sneak a provision in the "fiscal cliff" bill that delays price restraints on a class of drugs used...
Lipitor & Plavix: The Last of the Small Molecule Best Sellers?
Forbes just published a list of "Best Selling Drugs of All Time" (see here). I created the following chart from the data cited (click on it for a larger view):
"Tellingly," notes...
Will Novo Air a Super Bowl Commercial?
Yesterday, on my way to the NJ Turnpike, I passed by the BMS R&D facilities in Hopewell, NJ and noticed a sign announcing that Novo Nordisk will build a site directly...
An Attempt to Exhume the “Ethical Drug Industry”
When was the last time you heard "ethical" and "drug industry" in the same sentence? These days, you are more likely to see "unethical" linked closely with the drug industry that...
Is Pharma Too Big to Succeed?
You've heard of investment banks being "Too Big To Fail" as an excuse for government intervention. After reading the book "Devalued and Distrusted" by John LaMattina, former Pfizer president of R&D,...
Drop TV Ads, Says John LaMattina, Former Pfizer President of R&D
It's been a long, long time since anyone has seriously suggested a "moratorium" or complete halt to direct-to-consmer (DTC) drug TV advertising in the U.S. But that's just what was suggested...
Does the Flu Vaccine Work? What 62% “Effective” Really Means
JAMA has posted today a Viewpoint titled “Influenza Prevention Update: Examining Common Arguments Against Influenza Vaccination.”
In this Viewpoint, the authors (from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine) provide perspective to some...
Pharma Sets Record: Number of “Pay-for-Delay” Deals Hits 40 in 2012 Says FTC
According a new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff report, in Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, the number of "potentially anticompetitive patent dispute settlements" (aka, "Pay for Delay" deals) between branded and generic...
Study Reveals Inaccuracy of Smartphone Health Apps
Performance of smartphone applications in assessing melanoma risk is highly variable and 3 of 4 applications incorrectly classified 30 percent or more of melanomas as unconcerning, according to a study published...
Bad Pharma: A Cherry Picked NON Evidence-based Critique of Pharma Marketing?
I finally finished reading the 400 plus page book Bad Pharma™ by BenGoldacre, a British physician, whose previous book, Bad Science, was a best seller in the "non-fiction" realm.
As the name...
