Substituting Robust Marketing For Scientific Evidence: Industry Pursues Legal “Free Hand” For Off-Label Promotion.

SOURCE: OFF LABEL: A FILM Mike Magee Over the past fourteen years, the pharmaceutical industry in the U.S. has successfully beaten back proposals to allow drug reimportation from Canada. These proposals were advanced by multiple members of Congress and big city mayors, and were supported by the majority of Americans. But President Bush, in negotiations […]

Calling PhRMA’s Bluff: 15 Ways To Bring US Drug Costs Under Control

Mike Magee Historically, U.S. insurers have been relatively permissive when it comes to pharmaceuticals. Most drugs were covered and reimbursed generously. That reflected two realities: drugs were a relatively small piece of the over all health care cost, and denying certain drugs coverage on formulary lists was almost always a public relations nightmare, angering both […]

The Man-made Opioid Epidemic: Part 4 – The Linchpin.

Bronze Linchpin,Zhou Dynasty, China Mike Magee In the first three segments of this 5-part series, The Man-Made Opioid Epidemic, I have defined the crisis, the shared responsibility, and the growth of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) as a counter-balance to pharmaceutical data mining and marketing, which have been a shared venture of pharmaceutical and medical […]

Survey on Drug Safety from Research America!

WASHINGTON—Research America! Press Release, May 20, 2010— Nearly three-quarters of Americans are confident in our system for reviewing the effectiveness and safety of new medicines and medical devices, yet 41% say it takes too long to approve a drug and allow it to be sold to consumers. These are among the findings in a new poll […]