Brilliant biochemical chutzpah Posted
by Liz at 08/14/07 02:47 PM
Heartburn meds Nexium and Prilosec have been in the news lately because of the possibility that they may increase risk of heart attack. While the jury's still out on this, it's fascinating to look at the amount of money that's been poured into the marketing of these drugs.
Last week, the Food and Drug Administration announced that AstraZeneca, maker of both drugs, had found what might have been an increased risk for cardiac trouble in a 14-year study comparing the drugs to surgery. In reviewing the data, the agency said it agreed with the company that the result seemed to be a statistical fluke.
The FDA’s rather confusing report seemed to be an attempt at greater transparency following widespread criticism for its handling of alleged dangers of other drugs, including the arthritis medication Vioxx and the diabetes treatment Avandia. While most pharmaceutical experts agree there seems to be no heart danger from Nexium or Prilosec, their marketing has costly side effects.
Before its patent ran out, Prilosec was a best seller for AstraZeneca. When its patent ran out in 2001, the company
did everything it could to keep those profits..here's where the brilliance comes in..the company basically developed an almost identical drug (Nexium) and launched one of the most expensive campaigns ever to try to get patients and doctors to switch from Prilosec to Nexium. And this campaign paid off..
At this point, who hasn't heard of the "little purple pill"? More than 7 million Americans now take Nexium, according to the drug company. And IMS Health, a company that tracks pharmaceutical sales, reports that Nexium earned more than $5 billion in sales in the U.S. last year, making it the second highest grossing drug after Lipitor, the cholesterol-lowering medication hawked by a celebrity doctor in TV and print ads.
Prilosec now costs about $30 a month. Nexium costs about $200.
Drug safety legislation introduced in the US House would have allowed for an advertising moratorium on new drugs with serious safety risks for the first 3 years the drug is out on the market. This provision was stripped out by 3 NY House members. An advertising moratorium on drugs with serious safety risks would have been an important consumer protection, since most drug side effects do not appear until the drug has been taken by millions and is on the market for at least 7 years.
But not to worry says PhRMA:
The industry's trade group, Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), believes drug ads benefit public health by encouraging people to see their doctors about conditions they might not otherwise know they can treat. Safety shouldn't be a concern, says Scott Lassman, PhRMA's senior assistant general counsel. "Our feeling is that when a drug is approved, the FDA has already made an assessment that it is safe."
Vioxx, Zyprexa, Avandia, Paxil..for some reason, I don't feel so reassured.
comments
(6)
1
Posted by Amanda at 08/14/07 05:56 PM
The age of innocence is over. Prescription drug advertisements are heading the down the same road taken by cigarette companies in the days of early television. money makes the message, until we stand up and tell them enough.
2
Posted by Cathy at 08/21/07 07:56 PM
"Safety shouldn't be a concern, says Scott Lassman, PhRMA's senior assistant general counsel."
Mr Lassman's statement summons up in just a few brief words the serious problem with the Pharmaceutical industry - safety of their drugs are not a concern for them, they just want to make sure their profits get to the bank safely.
Now as for the gold seal of approval from the FDA? According to Mr Lassman - "Our feeling is that when a drug is approved, the FDA has already made an assessment that it is safe." That may be what Mr. Lassman and the Pharamaceutical companies believe and what, through their aggressive marketing, they hope that they can convince we the consumers to believe, but in reality unfortunately, there are so many tragic stories of consumers who have suffered tragic losses and serious life altering side effects due to unsafe medications that were approved by the FDA. Wouldn't it be nice if the FDA had the power to ensure to the best of it's ability, without interferance, or undue influence from the Pharamaceutical industry, that our prescription medications/devices were safe and effective? Unless Congress steps up to the plate, takes a stand against Pharamaceutical lobbist influence, and passes strong drug safety legislation there will be even more tragic stories. What wonder drug assessed as being safe by the FDA will join the list of unsafe medications such as Viox, Avandia, Zyprexa....and how many lives will be tragically impacted before something is finally done to ensure our medications are safe.
3
Posted by Meg at 08/22/07 12:58 PM
Hear, hear Cathy!
The FDA clearly needs an overhaul in the drug safety department, and won't regain consumer trust until they show they're working to protect the public - not drug industry profits.
Hopefully when Congress gets back to Washington in September they'll get moving on finalizing the drug safety reform bill and send it to the president. This legislation will be a good first step towards increased FDA- and drug company - accountability.
4
Posted by Jeanie at 08/31/07 11:55 AM
I agree with the above comments. I am one of the many who's life was seriously impacted from side effects of "one of the greatest wonder drug to hit the planet in years" – my doctor's words soon after Vioxx hit the market. Before taking the drug, I consulted 3 other doctors who all said basically the same thing.
Thankfully, I wasn't one of those who suffered a life-ending stroke or other fatal complication, though the drug did eventually cause a cascading series of problems that caused me to almost loose my life several times.
Before Vioxx, I was an extremely healthy, extremely active 40 year old — running marathons, playing tennis, traveling, back in school for another degree, with hobbies of skiing, hiking, landscaping ... and the list goes on. After Vioxx, I've spent the past 9 yrs almost completely bedridden – often fighting for my life. During the struggle, another "new wonder drug" was going to give me back my life: Enbrel. Since taking that medication, I've spent the past 3 years fighting an antibiotic resistant infection.
Thanks PhRMA, I hope my life was worth exchanging for the salaries you pay your lobbyists and the profits of your industry. I think of you often as I sit in the same spot in my bed day after day after day after day .....
Saddly, as the pharmaceutical industry spends more for lobbyists than any other industry in this nation, I somehow doubt Congress will be willing to forgo the massive campaign contributes to both parties and the strength and control of all those lobbyists. Even the FDA is so infiltrated by industry paid doctors, researchers, etc. that they can't even be counted on to do the right thing.
5
Posted by john stuart at 10/31/07 12:56 PM
Viagra
Viagra is a drug used to give impotent men a way to recover their normal sexual life and all the benefits that come along with that part of their life.
There have been some problems with the use of this kind of drug due to the fact that it can cause some people heart problems and for that reason many people have experimented health problems while using that drug .also there is a new problem related to viagra because some people (much of them young) are using it like recreational drug “more likely to be practiced among the gay and bisexual community”- according to Dr. Jeffrey Klausner in his study made in the city of san Francisco - causing themselves health issues such as heart problems, some people even do a worse thing by combining the blue pill with ecstasy or amphetamines such conducts can lead to serious problems, such as a sudden drop in blood pressure.
Similar drugs are being created to help men giving them a cheaper solution to that problem the issue is that men have to start concerning about their health when they decide to use this drugs so they don’t finish their lives just for some minutes of joy and excitement
Writing in the official journal of the International AIDS Society, Klausner also commented that "sildenafil (Viagra) . . . may be associated with unsafe drug use and sexual risk behaviour," and that, "although Viagra is a drug that should only be taken under the direct supervision of a health-care provider, over half of the men (in his study of 844) received the drug from a friend."
Straight boys are asking for those pills, too. The Harvard Medical School's Dr. Abraham Morgantaler says teenage and 20-something guys are requesting erectile-dysfunction (ED) drugs -- inventing a plumbing problem that doesn't really exist.
Morgantaler is quoted in the Chicago Tribune saying that college students often ask him for a "six-pack" that's not beer. (Viagra comes in packs of six.) He calls this "a stroke of (advertising) genius, evoking two great images of American maleness."
Source: http://www.canada.com/cityguides/winnipeg/info/story.html?id=841f6d38-2595-4a25-a202-97a82d053f0d
6
Posted by hector at 11/02/07 10:56 AM
hi
the goverment has to protect the commun health with harder more restrictives laws for pharmaceutical companies so they really make the test of the new drugs to be sure of their effects good and bad that way people will be more secure what they are takingis not going to cause them a bigger problem than the one they are trying to solve
