News tagged with 'Big Pharma'

After the Vioxx scandal, Congress approved a new law that forces the FDA to reveal post-approval safety information on new drugs and vaccines. Information on the first 26 drugs were posted this week.

A nonprofit representing 32 medical societies has released a new code of ethics that stresses disclosure of financial conflicts from drug and device makers by doctors and medical journalists.

Avastin is poised to become the number one best selling drug in 2014 thanks, in part, to patents expiring on Lipitor and Plavix.

Billy Tauzin who represented the pharmaceutical industry lobby, PhRMA, will be stepping down soon from his $2 million a year job. Tauzin made friends with the White House on health care reform which angered some Republicans.

Four of five new drugs are awaiting approval by the FDA and hope to become blockbusters for their pharmaceutical drugmakers and inject new life into profits.

The vast majority of the $4.5 billion advertising budget for Big Pharma is spent on TV and magazine ads. The drug industry wants to move into the Internet and will seek guidelines and push its case when it meets with the FDA this week.

The second major drug company merger in as many months, Merck will acquire Schering-Plough for $41 billion.  Fewer blockbuster drugs, and the promises of healthcare reform are pushing changes in the pharmaceutical industry.  

Upon the news of President Obama's budget proposal, health insurance and health stocks took a dive. Merck led the pack along with insurers behind Medicare Advantage.

Even before the economy went south, journalism has been suffering from a dwindling advertising base and audience that's gone online. The latest casualty is the Web site, Pharmalot, which covered the pharmaceutical industry extensively with insider comments and insights, delivered by journalist Ed Silverman.

A little light reading for your new year - three new books about the pharmaceutical industry and how it creates the maladies we all pay for. The review itself is worth the reading as it goes into the background of the cozy relationship between money and the pharmaceutical industry.

NPR is distancing itself from the independent program, "The Infinite Mind," which it provided to the Sirius Satellite Network, after its host was found to have a lucrative relationship with the pharmaceutical industry.