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In a major victory for the pharmaceutical industry, the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday shot down legislation to provide seniors full coverage through the controversial coverage gap in Medicare’s prescription drug benefit. The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), would have closed Medicare’s so-called “doughnut hole,” which forces millions of seniors each year to pay full prescription costs after annual expenses have reached a certain threshold. The Congressional Budget Office estimated this week that the proposal would save the government $106 billion over 10 years — enough to close the gap in coverage under Part D with $50 billion...

As many as 84% of Americans blame the pharmaceutical industry for the country’s healthcare woes, a new survey has found. Results of The Harris Poll, held in August, show Americans blame many different parties for the problems of the current healthcare system in the USA, with pharma coming second in the blame game with 84% of adults pointing the finger at pharma. Even more than 50% believed the industry deserves a “great deal” of blame.

Here is a new Naked Emperor News video that plays audio from the Left-Wing "Air America" Radio Network actually exposing President Barack Obama's "back room" deal with Big Pharmaceutical companies to support his ObamaCare plan. The Left is furious with Obama. In this audio, they say Obama is a "charming liar." A caller also says what Obama is doing is "fascist" because of the merging of political power with corporate power to impose their will on the nation. The audio is intermingled with flashbacks of Obama condeming the Pharmaceutical companies and saying he would be transparent in his administration. Interestingly,...

Deputy Assistant Under-Minister of Truth Linda Douglass tried her best to dodge the questions from Wolf Blitzer regarding the 150 million dollars PhARMA is agreeing to pay for advertising to support ObamaCare socialism: BLITZER: Did PhRMA, in exchange, make a promise of $150 million to pay for advertising to help the president's plan go forward? DOUGLASS: What -- what you have, Wolf, is this deal that is $80 billion. And we are very pleased, obviously, that -- that the pharmaceutical industry agrees with us, that there's an urgent need for comprehensive health insurance reform that's going to protect Americans from...

You know the messiah is tumbling back to earth when HuffPo puts up a investigative post about the collusion between Obama and big Pharma: A memo obtained by the Huffington Post confirms that the White House and the pharmaceutical lobby secretly agreed to precisely the sort of wide-ranging deal that both parties have been denying over the past week. The memo, which according to a knowledgeable health care lobbyist was prepared by a person directly involved in the negotiations, lists exactly what the White House gave up, and what it got in return. It says the White House agreed to...

Here's the link. In exchange, the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) agreed to cut $80 billion in projected costs to taxpayers and senior citizens over ten years. Or, as the memo says: "Commitment of up to $80 billion.. The health care lobbyist said that what deal still exists is uncertain, as a result of House pressure. "Now the White House is backing away from it, as you know, because of pressure from the House, because the House was not a party to the deal," he said. "The Speaker put enormous pressure on the White House, [saying], 'We weren't a...

A memo obtained by the Huffington Post confirms that the White House and the pharmaceutical lobby secretly agreed to precisely the sort of wide-ranging deal that both parties have been denying over the past week. The memo, which according to a knowledgeable health care lobbyist was prepared by a person directly involved in the negotiations, lists exactly what the White House gave up, and what it got in return. It says the White House agreed to oppose any congressional efforts to use the government's leverage to bargain for lower drug prices or import drugs from Canada -- and also agreed...

Pressed by industry lobbyists, White House officials on Wednesday assured drug makers that the administration stood by a behind-the-scenes deal to block any Congressional effort to extract cost savings from them beyond an agreed-upon $80 billion. Drug industry lobbyists reacted with alarm this week to a House health care overhaul measure that would allow the government to negotiate drug prices and demand additional rebates from drug manufacturers. In response, the industry successfully demanded that the White House explicitly acknowledge for the first time that it had committed to protect drug makers from bearing further costs in the overhaul. The Obama...

House Tri-Committee Bill Would Hurt Patients and Kill Jobs WASHINGTON, July 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Senior Vice President Ken Johnson released the following statement after the Energy and Commerce Committee mark-up of the House Tri-Committee bill: "PhRMA remains committed to working with the Administration and Congress to help enact comprehensive health care reform this year. Our policy agreement with the White House and the Senate Finance Committee, which provides $80 billion in meaningful cost-savings over 10 years, clearly demonstrates that commitment. We share the same goal of helping ensure that all Americans have access...

I would appreciate feedback on my site. Is it too female-oriented? Is it too over-the-top? I want a gun. Two guns, actually. I want a shotgun that makes that “ca-chick” sound that causes an intruder’s bowels to loosen, and I want an automatic handgun that I can keep in my purse (where rodent lovers keep their so-called dogs. And just what do they do if those…things…ate something disagreeable and have a blast of diarrhea while en suite?). And in happy coincidence, Justice Kennedy says that’s all right by him. I was waiting with worms on my tongue for the Erudite...

In another expansion of its prescription drug program that has helped to increase its pharmacy sales, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it's adding a 90-day supply of its prescription drugs for $10, increasing additional medications for women, and unveiling $4 over-the-counter medicines. Wal-Mart and its Sam's Club pharmacies will fill prescriptions for as many as 350 generic drugs costing $10 for a 90-day supply, an expansion from the existing 30-day supplies that cost $4. Wal-Mart also is adding $9 women's generic prescription drugs for up to a 30-day supply that are used to treat osteoporosis, breast cancer, menopause and hormone deficiency,...

Democrats have long served as the traditional enemy of Big Pharma, but in this presidential campaign, the left is taking the lion's share of drugmaker money. Democratic senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are the top recipients of donations from the pharmaceutical industry, according to The Center for Responsive Politics, a non-profit, non-partisan research group in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, donations to Sen. John McCain, who was recently endorsed by President Bush as the official Republican candidate, pale in comparison.

In the race to find the next billion-dollar drug, some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies are starting in China. For the past three years industry giants such as Pfizer and Merck have quietly dished out early-stage research projects to scientists working in the whitewashed buildings of WuXi PharmaTech, China's largest drug R&D company. "We have a cost advantage and access to other resources, such as research animals, and a very good infrastructure. All of these things make us competitive," says Hai Mi, head of WuXi's investor relations.

New evidence shows that the drug makers Merck and Schering-Plough have conducted several studies of their popular cholesterol medicine Zetia that raise questions about its risks to the liver, but the companies have never published those results. Partial results of the studies, alluded to in documents on the Food and Drug Administration’s Web site, raise questions about whether Zetia can cause liver damage when used long term with other cholesterol drugs called statins. Most of the millions of people who use Zetia take it along with a statin like Lipitor, Crestor or Zocor. Or they take it in a single...

Launched by an Executive Order in April of 2002 under the guise of expanding the scope of 1990's Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health has since received the official sanction of the U.S. Congress... This commission is the driving force behind a massive policy shift that will literally turn public schools into mental health screening centers...all parents of public school children are supposed to be receiving written notice of these new federally mandated mental health screening policies. Some will also get permission slips to sign that will allow school counselors or other non-medically-educated bureaucrats...

U.S. Senate OKs greater access to Canada drugs But Bush vows to veto plan WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate is courting a presidential veto on prescription drug imports from Canada. The latest bid to legalize imports survived a major challenge yesterday in the upper house, where senators endorsed the idea by a vote of 63-28. But there will be other hurdles for the amendment allowing more access to lower-priced medicine from Canada, part of a broader bill related to the Food and Drug Administration. And even if it survives, President George W. Bush has vowed to veto the plan, also...

BRASILIA, Brazil - President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took steps Friday to let Brazil buy an inexpensive generic version of an AIDS drug made by Merck & Co. despite the U.S. drug company's patent. Silva issued a "compulsory license" that would bypass Merck's patent on the AIDS drug efavirenz, a day after the Brazilian government rejected Merck's offer to sell the drug at a 30 percent discount, or $1.10 per pill, down from $1.57. The country was seeking to purchase the drug at 65 cents a pill, the same price Thailand pays. It was the first time Brazil has...

BRASILIA, Brazil - President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took steps Friday to let Brazil buy an inexpensive generic version of an AIDS drug made by Merck & Co. despite the U.S. drug company's patent. Silva issued a "compulsory license" that would bypass Merck's patent on the AIDS drug efavirenz, a day after the Brazilian government rejected Merck's offer to sell the drug at a 30 percent discount, or $1.10 per pill, down from $1.57. The country was seeking to purchase the drug at 65 cents a pill, the same price Thailand pays. It was the first time Brazil has...

The pharmaceutical companies are learning that sleeping with the government results in more than the one-night stand they desired. Legislation to impose price controls on pharmaceuticals purchased through the 2003 Medicare drug benefit will soon hit the Senate floor. Some drugmakers may have to learn a second time. Merck's early efforts to mandate use of its new human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine could similarly backfire. What government gives with one hand it usually takes away with anothe

WASHINGTON — Federal health advisers recommended Tuesday that the government approve the first bird flu vaccine as a stopgap measure, despite evidence it wouldn't protect most people. In separate votes, the outside panel said the vaccine was both safe and effective. A vaccine must meet both standards to win FDA approval. The votes came after Food and Drug Administration officials said the Sanofi Aventis SA vaccine still could play an important role in protecting against the increased likelihood of a pandemic, despite its limited effectiveness. "I am of the view that anything is better than nothing," said panel member Dr....