http://blog.novusdetox.com/views We are calling for reforms in drug testing, approvals and after-market safety issues. Fri, 16 May 2008 13:02:47 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Eli Lily skates after a federal judge tosses out a class action suit by angry investors. But the decision raises questions about the fairness of the law. Sometimes there just doesn’t seem to be any justice in the world, or so the saying goes, but that all depends on who you ... http://blog.novusdetox.com/views/2008/05/16/judge-finds-in-favor-of-lilly-saying-zyprexa-problems-were-known-for-years/ It’s a complicated issue, but once you sort through the details, it looks like Pfizer has pulled off a remarkably slimy example of putting marketing ahead of science. Popular pharma-watcher Howard Brody, MD, PhD, has awarded a “brilliant sleaze” award to Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company and numero ... http://blog.novusdetox.com/views/2008/05/14/pfizer-wins-brilliant-sleaze-award-from-popular-mds-blog-site/ Colorado’s new bill banning health insurers giving kickbacks to doctors to prescribe cheaper generics ignores Big Pharma’s similar, and even more lavish, practice in favor of their pricier brand name drugs. In Colorado, where a bill is pending approval that bans health insurers from providing incentives (read “payola”) to doctors to ... http://blog.novusdetox.com/views/2008/05/12/colorado-bill-does-nothing-about-big-pharmas-physician-incentives-system/ A Colorado bill will prevent health insurers from offering incentives to doctors to prescribe cheaper generics rather than Big Pharma’s pricier brands. An interesting development in the ongoing pharmaceutical doctor-bribing drama across the country is taking place in Colorado, where a bill is pending approval that bans health insurers from providing ... http://blog.novusdetox.com/views/2008/05/09/colorado-bill-would-ban-kickbacks-and-incentives-to-physicians-from-health-insurers/ Suit alleges the pharmaceutical giants violated state consumer protection laws and federal and state antitrust laws by delaying availability of cheaper, generic versions through trickery or deception. Florida and Massachusetts are among 26 other states that are joined in an antitrust lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies for allegedly blocking access to cheaper ... http://blog.novusdetox.com/views/2008/05/07/twenty-six-states-join-in-antitrust-suit-against-big-pharma-companies/ Lawmakers in Massachusetts have decided they’ve had enough of Big Pharma “bribing” physicians, and if a new bill becomes law, allows fines of up to $5,000 for even offering a gift. The Massachusetts state Senate has approved a bill containing a sweeping package of reforms it hopes will control skyrocketing health-care ... http://blog.novusdetox.com/views/2008/05/05/massachusetts-bill-would-ban-gifts-to-physicians-from-big-pharma-and-device-makers/ FDA’s letter to GSK warns Big Pharma to get its act together and start reporting all adverse event information or suffer the consequences of fines and criminal proceedings. In his In Vivo blog, Micheal McCaughan suggests that the warning letter sent to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) about its diabetes drug Avandia is more ... http://blog.novusdetox.com/views/2008/05/03/fda-sends-strong-message-to-glaxosmithkline-and-the-rest-of-big-pharma/ Whistle-blower lawsuit alleges Schering-Plough failed to reveal problems with a drug that killed five people, including two children, and seriously injured 53 others. Schering-Plough recently spent $14.3 billion to buy the drug company Organon, and now must face allegations that serious “adverse events” associated with Organon’s neuromuscular blocking agent Raplon were ... http://blog.novusdetox.com/views/2008/04/30/big-pharmas-questionable-ethics-creates-more-problems-for-schering-plough/ Merck and Schering-Plough are not the only Big Pharma players getting hurt by their own actions. Before Merck and Co. withdrew the painkiller Vioxx in 2004, it was linked to tens of thousands of heart attacks. Now a new study of internal Merck documents alleges the company knew of the dangers ... http://blog.novusdetox.com/views/2008/04/28/big-pharma-scams-do-no-good-for-the-industry-and-lets-not-forget-they-often-kill-people/ Big Pharma’s ethics also need a major overhaul or the industry will go the way of the dinosaur. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported this week that Merck and Co. faked reports on Vioxx. In other words, Merck employees wrote the reports, then attributed the articles to academic ... http://blog.novusdetox.com/views/2008/04/26/vioxx-%e2%80%9cghost-writer-disclosure-emphasizes-need-for-fundamental-changes-in-fda-approvals/