Free Republic

Drug companies, derisively referred to as “big pharma,” are one of the favorite political targets of the day. They are called greedy and are demonized for charging a lot of money for their products. All of this is grandstanding, and it hampers the public’s ability to understand how beneficial large pharmaceutical firms are. A new study released last week shows the good that “big pharma” can do. Postmenopausal women who get breast cancer take a drug called tamoxofin to prevent the cancer from recurring. The drug is very effective, but only for five years. Researchers have discovered that if the...

MDs sell signatures: Illegal, but lucrative A handful of Canadian doctors are routinely breaking the law by authorizing prescriptions for Americans buying through Internet pharmacies. The practice of co-signing prescriptions for American patients is big business. Without those co-signing Canadian doctors, Canada's Internet pharmacies could not exist. But this big Canadian business is illegal. MONTREAL - Few medical practices are more secretive: A handful of doctors across Canada co-sign millions of prescriptions each year for American patients they never meet, earning lucrative fees for their efforts. The practice is big business. Without those co-signing Canadian doctors, Canada's Internet pharmacies could...

Health Care News August 2002 Peter Jennings' Bitter Mistakes How ABC's May 29 Special Report slandered the nation's pharmaceutical industry and mis-disagnosed the nation's health care finance problem by Merrill Matthews On May 29, ABC aired an hour-long attack on the nation’s pharmaceutical industry masquerading as an objective documentary. Narrated by Peter Jennings, the program accused the industry of free-riding off taxpayers, earning “huge profits” by manipulating patents, marketing “me too” drugs instead of finding new cures, and suppressing research exposing the ineffectiveness or dangerous side-effects of its products. Strong Claims The documentary’s title, “Bitter Medicine: Pills, Profit and...

July 11, 2002 | Kathleen Turner was on television recently talking about her pain and suffering. "The damage that I have, the damage I'll always have could have been prevented," the actress told "Good Morning, America" host Diane Sawyer on Feb. 19. Sawyer was sympathetic. Turner, she knew from a previous interview, had been battling rheumatoid arthritis for over a year now. "You're still in pain?" Sawyer asked. "Well," Turner responded, "as they say: only when you walk." Turner then went on to mention a Web site, www.ra-access.com, where fellow sufferers could get help. Sawyer eagerly repeated the site's address...

<p>Or is he just playing politics?</p> <p>The latter, we bet. And he would do well to stop it.</p> <p>McCall is state comptroller - and, ex officio, the sole trustee of New York's $112 billion employee retirement fund. And he's running for governor.</p>

Sean, You were DUPED by one of your TV guest last night. She stated that Drug companies spend 5x more on marketing that on R&D... Fact is, that is not true. A quick Internet search of pure Drug companies like Eli Lilly shows that ALL Operating Expenses exceed R&D by only 1.5X. Using business norms, we can assume that Marketing and Selling expenses comprise 50% of operating expenses. Using this figure, Marketing and Selling Expenses is less than R&D at only .77x R&D. And top this, advertising is generally a small portion of a company's Marketing and Selling budget! The...

Please check out Charlie Rice's program with Peter Jennings. It is playing right now where I am. UGHCharlie and Jennings are talking about the Drug companies and why they don't pursue new drugs (Jennings did a show on this topic) and Rice asks why companies are not pursuing new drugs.Jennings replies, (paraphrasing) "it is partly the fault of the Congress, and I am not going to say the President dropped the ball on this, but he should pick the ball up."Okay, like GW hasn't had anything on his agenda.

ABCNEWS will air a one-hour special report on America's billion-dollar pharmaceutical industry that asks: "What are we getting for our money?" "Peter Jennings Reporting — Bitter Medicine: Pills, Profit and the Public Health," will air Wednesday, May 29 from 10-11 p.m. ET on the ABC Television Network.   More money is spent on prescription drugs in America than in any other country in the world. Most of the current debate surrounding this billion-dollar industry focuses on questions about their high cost and how to pay for them. But in an hourlong primetime ABCNEWS special, Peter Jennings asks the crucial...