Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Before a drug can come to market, it must receive FDA approval. This involves 3 phases of testing with Phase I having 20-80 volunteers and Phase III often testing more than 1,000 people. Despite the FDA approval, patients can sue drug companies if they are injured by a drug. Patients can generally sue manufacturers under…
A paper by DiMasi et al. (2003) found that the cost of drug development was $802 million. This is a highly contentious number. Drug companies have used this number to lobby regulators to loosen the FDA approval process. The data used in the study, however, was confidential and could not be replicated by other authors.…
NPR’s All Things Considers documents the creation of the blockbuster drug Fosamax. Physicians use Fosamax to treat patients with osteoporosis and the less severe osteopenia. To summarize what took place: Pharmaceutical companies start lobbying to expand Medicare coverage for bone density tests. Medicare expands coverage to include bone density tests. Physicians purchase equipment to test…
GoozNews reports that “the Senate Judiciary Committee…passed legislation prohibiting brand name drug manufacturers from paying off generic manufacturers in patent disputes. They get the money in exchange for not bringing the cheaper drug to market.” Is this a wise move for Congress? The main question one should ask is why brand name manufacturers pay off generic…
This past February, I wrote about the spread of physician learning concerning harmful side-effects of Cox-2 inhibitors, including Bextra. Today, The New York Times reports that Pfizer has agreed to pay a $2.3 billion settlement with CMS over the company’s illegal promotion of its now-withdrawn painkiller, Bextra. “Marketing fraud cases against pharmaceutical companies have become…
A paper by Claudio Lucarelli and Sean Nicholson (2009) examines the skyrocketing cost of colorectal cancer treatment. In 1993, the price of treating these patients with chemotherapy was only $100. By 2005, this price had skyrocketed to $36,000. Is this what is wrong with our health care system? The authors claim that the answer is…
Three step formula to long-term Pharma profits: Step 1: Create revolutionary medicine. Step 2: Patent the medicine to collect in the profits. Step 3: When the patent expires, combine the drug with another in order to extend its patent life and keep profits high. Most people believe that Step 1 and 2 are ok. The…
SuperBrands ranks the top brands: Overall Pharmaceuticals: OTC Pharmaceuticals: Prescription
Scientific American has an article ranking countries based on how conducive they are to biotechnology innovation. The criteria are based on what is best for biotech firms and not necessary what is best for society. The rankings are based on the following metrics: Intellectual Property (IP) protection. In this ranking, more IP protection is considered better. For…
Medicare Part D decreased the number of seniors without drug coverage. In 2006 only 7% of seniors lacked drug coverage compared to 24% in 2004.