Concern about the federal government’s budget deficit is reaching a crescendo. Assorted Cassandras warn that failing to address this problem could have dire consequences, and members of both parties seem to agree that spending must be cut. But before Congress tightens its purse strings too zealously, I’d like to remind it of the valuable and necessary work that the national budget funds. Two drug-related stories that emerged last week provide particularly good examples. Read more »

Last week, Japanese drugmaker Takeda (Osaka, Japan) struck a deal with biopharmaceutical company Orexigen (La Jolla, CA) for the commercialization of its investigational obesity drug Contrave (naltrexone SR/bupropion SR). Under the terms of the agreement, Takeda will pay Orexigen $50 million cash up front, more than $1 billion in milestone payments, and royalties for rights to commercialize the drug in the US, Canada, and Mexico (Orexigen will co-promote the drug in the US). Read more »

“The pharmaceutical industry is a ‘market for lemons’; a market in which the seller knows much more than the buyer about the product and can profit from selling products less effective and less safe than consumers are led to believe”. Read more »

Healthcare-reform legislation is not the only federal initiative that is affecting pharmaceutical manufacturers these days. US Attorney General Eric Holder is cracking down on healthcare fraud, including false claims against Medicare and Medicaid. AstraZeneca (London) felt the sting of Holder’s campaign when it agreed last week to pay $520 million to resolve accusations that it marketed its atypical antipsychotic Seroquel illegally. Read more »

Patients rely on doctors to make impartial decisions about the most effective treatments for their conditions. In recent years, public advocates have agitated for restrictions on pharmaceutical companies gifts’ (e.g., meals, honoraria, or entertainment) to medical professionals on the grounds that they could unduly influence prescribing habits. In what seems like a fight against transparency, Pfizer (New York) sent employees to Connecticut’s capitol to protest a state bill that would restrict such gifts and require reporting. Read more »

President Obama’s plan for lowering the cost of healthcare relies partly on ensuring that affordable generic drugs are available to patients. This strategy is not likely to be palatable to innovator companies, who have tried various ways of delaying generic drugs’ introduction to the market. Read more »

We’ve all seen trademarked skeletons, wall charts, calendars, paperweights, and supplies in doctors’ offices. And it’s blatantly clear that these items came from pharmaceutical companies—their names are written all over them. But soon, those long waits in the examining room before the doctor comes in may be quite boring because there won’t be much to look at. Read more »

Heads up pharmaceutical marketing firms: your branded “freebies” at US medical schools may be on their way out. An editorial in the current issue of Archives of Internal Medicine is calling for the new policies on interactions between pharma companies and physicians, even would-be medical professionals. The editorial highlights a study in that publication investigating whether medical students’ attitudes may be influenced by exposure to small branded items such as pens, clipboards, notepads, etc. That study involved 352 third and fourth-year students from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, which has a strict policy against promotional material, and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, which does not. Read more »

Apparently, the Bextra (valdecoxib) nightmare is lingering a bit longer for Pfizer. More than four years after the initial lawsuits against the drug were filed, a sales executive of a separate company pleaded guilty yesterday to encouraging her sales staff to promote the painkiller for uses she knew had been rejected by the US Food and Drug Administration. Read more »

Many state legislatures are looking for ways to keep their healthcare costs down. Given our difficult economy, attempts at fiscal prudence do not come as a surprise. What’s heartening is that many states’ bills draw a link between healthcare expenses and doctor–patient confidentiality. Read more »