Do Drug Coupons Hurt Employee Health Plans and Ultimately Employees?
"Coupons for drug co-payments are illegal and drive up long-term health-care costs for all, a consumer group and four trade-union health-insurance plans said Wednesday in announcing lawsuits against eight pharmaceutical companies,"...
Charlie Kimball – Novo’s Branded Spokesperson – Makes Expensive TV DTC Debut
Charlie Kimball, the Indy racecar driver spokesperson for Novo Nordisk's NovoLog Flexpen, which is used to treat Type 1 diabetes, made his debut as star of his first direct-to-consumer (DTC) TV...
The Fake Avastin Supply Chain: China, Syria, Denmark, Switzerland, UK, US, Doctors
Authorities investigating the importation of low-cost foreign pharmaceuticals into the U.S. have identified a supply chain that may have allowed fake cancer drugs to reach U.S. clinics, according to investigators and...
Bad News for Potent Cholesterol Drug Users, but Not Me!
Two pieces of bad news for people who take "potent" anti-cholesterol statin drugs came into my email in-box today.
The first was about yesterday's New York Times OpEd piece published by a...
J&J Lowers Its Reputation Expectations
I recently received this simple tweet from @JNJComm (Johnson and Johnson's official corporate Twitter account):
#JNJ is pleased to rank 12th among @FortuneMagazine’s most admired companies! > cnnmon.ie/xM27z8
Hmmm... JNJ might be pleased...
Reminder Ads OK in EU But Not in US. Huh?
The Geneva-based International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) expanded its practice code to cover all interactions with health-care professionals, medical institutions and patient organizations, including a ban on doctors...
Google Pharmacy Phish
I received an e-mail today announcing the launch of "Google Pharmacy" that promised it will "improve the Google experience for people buying pills and using pharmaceutical interfaces." It included a nifty-looking...
Pharma Celebrity Spokespersons: Unrepentant, Secretive, and (Expletive Deleted)!
I have documented the rise and fall of several pharma celebrity spokespeople (see, for example, this list) . This past week two such celebrities made the news: Paula Deen and Danica...
FDA’s Drug Shortages Team: Why Are They Smiling?
"Hope on the Horizon," is the title of today's FDAVoice blog post by Margaret Hamburg, M.D., FDA Commissioner. The post (here) highlighted a presentation made by a patient at an FDA...
Advice to J&J’s New CEO Alex Gorsky: Start Tweeting, Blogging, and YouTubing
Alex Gorsky will have to address trouble at J&J's consumer business when he becomes CEO, notes the Wall Street Journal (see here).
Sure, "those who know Mr. Gorsky laud his skills diagnosing...
