Big Bucks, Big Pharma: Marketing Disease and Pushing Drugs

[Serious]

Taken from my thread on KTL:

Big Bucks, Big Pharma pulls back the curtain on the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry to expose the insidious ways that illness is used, manipulated, and in some instances created, for capital gain. Focusing on the industry’s marketing practices, media scholars and health professionals help viewers understand the ways in which direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising glamorizes and normalizes the use of prescription medication, and works in tandem with promotion to doctors.

Combined, these industry practices shape how both patients and doctors understand and relate to disease and treatment. Ultimately, Big Bucks, Big Pharma challenges us to ask important questions about the consequences of relying on a for-profit industry for our health and well-being

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH8hOrhzOKo


Big Pharma Spends More On Advertising Than Research And Development, Study Finds:

ScienceDaily (Jan. 5, 2008) — A new study by two York University researchers estimates the U.S. pharmaceutical industry spends almost twice as much on promotion as it does on research and development, contrary to the industry’s claim.

The researchers’ estimate is based on the systematic collection of data directly from the industry and doctors during 2004, which shows the U.S. pharmaceutical industry spent 24.4% of the sales dollar on promotion, versus 13.4% for research and development, as a percentage of US domestic sales of US$235.4 billion.

The research is co-authored by PhD candidate Marc-André Gagnon, who led the study with Joel Lexchin, a long-time researcher of pharmaceutical promotion, Toronto physician, and Associate Chair of York’s School of Health Policy & Management in the Faculty of Health.

“In our paper, we make the case for the need for a new estimate of promotional expenditures by the U.S. pharmaceutical industry,” says Gagnon. “We then explain how we used proprietary databases to construct a revised estimate and finally, we compare our results with those from other data sources to argue in favor of changing the priorities of the industry.”

The study is important because it provides the most accurate image yet of the promotional workings of the pharmaceutical industry, says Lexchin.

The authors examined the 2004 reports of IMS Health (IMS) and CAM Group (CAM), two international market research companies that provide the pharmaceutical industry with sales/marketing data and consulting services. IMS obtains its data by surveying pharmaceutical firms, while CAM surveys doctors, which explains important discrepancies in the data they provide.

The researchers used 2004 as the comparison year because it was the latest year in which information was available from both organizations.

CAM reported total promotion spending by the U.S. pharmaceutical industry as US$33.5 billion in their 2004 report, while IMS reported US$27.7 billion for the same year. The authors observed, however, important differences in figures according to each promotion category. By selectively using both sets of figures provided by IMS and CAM, in order to determine the most relevant data for each category, and adjusting for methodological differences between the ways IMS and CAM collect data, the authors arrived at US$57.5 billion for the total amount spent on pharmaceutical promotion in 2004. The industry spent approximately US$61,000 in promotion per physician during 2004, according to Gagnon.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080105140107.htm

 

[Serious]

Medical Students Have Substantial Exposure to Pharmaceutical Industry Marketing:

ScienceDaily (May 24, 2011) — Medical students in the United States are frequently exposed to pharmaceutical marketing, even in their preclinical years, and the extent of their contact with industry is associated with positive attitudes about marketing and skepticism towards any negative implications
\

These findings from research led by Kirsten Austad and Aaron S. Kesselheim from the Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, published in this week's PLoS Medicine, suggest that strategies to educate students about interactions with the pharmaceutical industry should directly address widely-held misconceptions about the effects of marketing.

The authors examined all published studies on this topic and collected the results from a total of 9,850 medical students studying at 76 medical schools. The authors found that most students had some form of interaction with the pharmaceutical industry and that contact increased in the clinical years, with up to 90% of all clinical students receiving some form of educational materials. Most students thought it was ethically permissible to accept gifts from drug manufacturers and justified their entitlement to gifts by citing financial hardship or by asserting that most other students accepted gifts. Almost two-thirds of students reported that they were immune to bias induced by promotion, gifts, or interactions with sales representatives. Student opinions were split on whether physician-industry interactions should be regulated either by medical schools or the government.

The authors recommend that in addition to better education for medical students on the subject of physician-industry relationships, institutions can help by supporting reforms such as rules limiting the contact students have with pharmaceutical industry marketing. However, change may be difficult due to the influence of the so-called "hidden curriculum," or the effect of attitudes and other behavioural cues expressed by peers and role models. They say: "Given the potential for educational and institutional messages to be counteracted by the hidden curriculum, changes should be directed at faculty and residents who serve as role models for medical students."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110524171245.htm

This documentary also talks about the role of me-too drugs

Me-too drug: A drug that is structurally very similar to already known drugs, with only minor differences. The term "me-too" carries a negative connotation. However, me-too products may create competition and drive prices down.

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=33748

 

[Serious]

The pharmaceutical and health products industry -- it includes not only drug manufacturers but also dealers of medical products and nutritional and dietary supplements -- is consistently one of the top industries for federal campaign contributions. (Pharmaceutical manufacturers are a subset of this industry and are profiled in detail within this section.)

The industry’s political generosity increased in the years leading up to Congress’ passage in 2003 of a prescription drug benefit in Medicare. Contributions from the industry declined in the 2004 cycle, however, following the elimination of unlimited “soft” money contributions to the national political parties. The pharmaceutical industry has traditionally supported Republican candidates.But as Democrats have seized Congress and the White House in recent cycles, industry advocates have steadily become more generous toward traditional foes. These companies’ contributions split evenly during the 2008 cycle, after the GOP received two-thirds of drug company contributions in the run-up to the 2006 cycle. [Read more Background]

http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=H04

ScienceDaily (Apr. 6, 2010) — Poisoning is now the second leading cause of unintentional injury death in the U.S. While several recent high-profile Hollywood celebrity cases have brought the problem to public attention, the rates of unintentional poisoning deaths have been on the rise for more than 15 years, and in fact, unintentional poisoning has surpassed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of unintentional injury death among people 35-54 years of age.


In a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that hospitalizations for poisoning by prescription opioids, sedatives and tranquilizers in the U.S. have increased by 65% from 1999 to 2006.

"Deaths and hospitalizations associated with prescription drug misuse have reached epidemic proportions," said the study's lead author, Jeffrey H. Coben, MD, of the West Virginia University School of Medicine. "It is essential that health care providers, pharmacists, insurance providers, state and federal agencies, and the general public all work together to address this crisis. Prescription medications are just as powerful and dangerous as other notorious street drugs, and we need to ensure people are aware of these dangers and that treatment services are available for those with substance abuse problems."

In the first comprehensive examination of nationwide hospitalizations associated with these prescription medications, researchers examined data gathered from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), which contains records for approximately 8 million hospitalizations per year. By using standard diagnosis codes from the ICD-9-CM, the authors extracted from the NIS all poisonings by drugs, medicinal, and biological substances reported from 1999-2006, and further categorized the specific types of drugs in each case. It was also possible to determine whether the poisoning was diagnosed as intentional, unintentional or undetermined.

Dr. Coben believes that while the data reveals a fast-growing problem, there's an urgent need for more in-depth research on this wave of injuries and deaths. Writing in the article, he said, "Interviews with survivors could provide important additional details regarding the pathways to abuse of these drugs, the methods used to obtain the medications, the sequencing and combination of drugs that result in overdose, and the immediate precursors to these serious events. The association between hospitalization for prescription opioids, sedatives, and tranquilizers and subsequent morbidity and mortality is another area in need of further research."

While the majority of hospitalized poisonings are classified as unintentional, substantial increases were also demonstrated for intentional overdoses associated with these drugs, likely reflecting their widespread availability in community settings.

From 1999-2006, total estimated hospitalizations in the U.S. for poisoning by prescription opioids, sedatives, and tranquilizers increased by 65%; while unintentional poisonings by these drugs increased by 37%. In comparison, during this same period, hospitalizations for poisoning by other drugs, medicinal and biological substances increased by 33%, while all other hospitalizations increased by just over 11%. Unintentional poisonings by other substances increased by 21%. Intentional poisonings from prescription opioids, sedatives, and tranquilizers rose by a total of 130% compared to a 53% increase in intentional poisonings from other substances.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100406073637.htm

 

[Serious]

Abbott To Pay $1.6B To Settle Depakote Marketing Probes

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) agreed to pay $1.6 billion and plead guilty to violating a federal drug law to resolve allegations that the company improperly promoted antiseizure drug Depakote for unauthorized uses.

The Justice Department said it was the second-largest payment by a drug company to settle an investigation, after Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE) $2.3 billion settlement in 2009. It is the latest in a series of settlements by major drug makers--including GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK), Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) and Merck & Co. (MRK)--whose marketing practices have been investigated by the government in recent years.

As part of its agreement with federal and state officials, Abbott admitted that from 1998 through 2006, it had a specialized sales force trained to market Depakote in nursing homes for the treatment of aggression and agitation in elderly dementia patients, despite the absence of credible scientific evidence that the drug was safe and effective for that use, according to the Justice Department.

The company also admitted that from 2001 through 2006 it marketed Depakote in combination with atypical antipsychotic drugs to treat schizophrenia, even after its clinical trials failed to demonstrate that adding Depakote was any more effective than an atypical antipsychotic alone for that use, the Justice Department said.

Neither of those so-called off-label uses were approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The drug is approved to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder and to prevent migraines. Drug makers are generally barred from actively promoting such off-label uses of their drugs, though doctors have discretion to prescribe off-label.

"Abbott's misconduct exposed elderly nursing home residents and schizophrenia patients to serious side effects from a drug that was not proven effective, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars to government health care programs," U.S. Attorney Timothy Heaphy of the Western District of Virginia said at a press conference in Washington.

"This is an elder abuse case," he said.

The drug is associated with certain safety risks including liver disease.

Abbott General Counsel Laura Schumacher said in a statement: "The company takes its responsibility to patients and health care providers seriously and has established robust compliance programs to ensure its marketing programs meet the needs of health care providers and legal requirements." She said the company is confident it has programs in place to satisfy the requirements of the settlement.

Abbott agreed to plead guilty to one misdemeanor violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for "misbranding" Depakote, in connection with the promotion of the drug for use in the elderly and in schizophrenia patients.

The drug maker will pay $800 million to resolve civil allegations split among federal and state governments, a $700 million criminal fine and forfeiture, and $100 million to states to resolve consumer-protection matters. The settlement resolves investigations by the federal government, 49 states and the District of Columbia.

The civil aspect of the settlement stems from allegations that Abbott's marketing practices caused false claims to be submitted to government health programs for prescription reimbursements. The civil settlement doesn't include a determination of liability.

Abbott previously reserved the amounts in anticipation of the settlement, including a $1.5 billion charge in the third quarter of 2011.

Depakote was once one of Abbott's best-selling drugs, racking up $1.6 billion in sales for 2007, before patent expirations cleared the way for cheaper generic copies.

In addition to monetary penalties, Justice Department officials said the Abbott agreement included novel provisions that haven't been used in past similar settlements with drug companies.

Among them, Abbott will be subject to court-supervised probation for five years, and its chief executive and board of directors must make certain certifications to the probation office about the company's marketing and sales practices.

Abbott also agreed not to compensate sales reps for off-label sales and take other steps during the probationary period.

These compliance measures and certification requirements will transfer to a stand-alone pharmaceutical company that is being split off from Abbott Labs, to be called AbbVie. Abbott has tapped Richard A. Gonzalez, currently head of Abbott's pharmaceutical unit, to become CEO of AbbVie.

Abbott Chief Executive Miles White will remain CEO of Abbott Labs after the split. In 2010, a federal judge in Virginia ordered Abbott to turn over to federal prosecutors some of White's email messages that prosecutors wanted as part of their investigation.

The split is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.

Justice Department officials said the agency wanted to increase penalties each time it resolves an off-label marketing case with a drug company. They said they hoped the Abbott agreement would provide new incentives for drug makers to comply with the law.

The government investigations were based partly on lawsuits filed in federal court by former Abbott sales reps who made allegations about Depakote marketing.

One of the lawsuits was filed in 2007 by Meredith McCoyd, who worked as an Abbott Labs sales rep from 1998 until 2007 in Atlanta and surrounding areas. She alleged Abbott promoted Depakote for treating dementia in nursing-home patients and other uses.

She also alleged Abbott paid kickbacks to doctors and long-term care pharmacists to induce use of Depakote, and misrepresented its safety and efficacy profile.

"We're obviously pleased this matter has come to a resolution," said McCoyd's lawyer, Reuben Guttman. Abbott "was marketing to populations without the ability on their own to be cognizant of the impact of the drugs on them."

McCoyd and the others who filed lawsuits stand to split $84 million of the federal share of the settlement under a U.S. law designed to encourage people to report allegations of false-claims fraud. They stand to receive additional money from the states.

Guttman said it was a "reasonable reward for coming forward and revealing information that's going to have a very positive impact on the way patient populations are treated in the days ahead."

Abbott's guilty plea and sentence won't be final until accepted by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120507-714070.html

Iight lets build brehs

 

[Pool_Shark]

I used to really enjoy exposals but now I can't fukk with them. Yeah the pharmaceutical industry is corrupt in some aspects, so is the justice department, so is the government, so is any big corporation, so is any religion, so is the food industry.

Everything is corrupt and fukked, but what are people going to do about it? I'm living good, enjoying my life knowing this is how the world works because it is impossible to stop people from being greedy a$$holes.

I'm all for embarrassing big companies, but this shyt just pisses me off out of frustration cause it feels like nothing can be down to ever end this.

 

[Tommy Fits]

It's easier and cheaper to pump us full of drugs instead of rehabilitation or therapy. It's sad when doctors push meds on us even when they have adverse effects or we don't want them to begin with. It's really depressing when you realize how rigged the game truly is. My younger brother suffers from petit mal seizures. He was on a medication that was working but for whatever reason his doctor switched, probably because he got kick backs but long story short my brothers short term memory went to shyt once he switched to the new meds. He told his doctor his memory has gone to shyt since he started the new medication, his doctor said it had nothing to do with the medication. I decided to research the medication, I can't tell you how many people said their doctor switched them to this new medication and they had the same side effects. And when they asked there doctor about it it was the same response, it wasn't the medication. And from what I read those that dropped the new medication and went back to the old one, the short term memory side effects went away.

 

[Pool_Shark]

It's easier and cheaper to pump us full of drugs instead of rehabilitation or therapy. It's sad when doctors push meds on us even when they have adverse effects or we don't want them to begin with. It's really depressing when you realize how rigged the game truly is.

Yeah whats even crazier is how they tell us "your drugs are bad, ours are good". Then these politicians give hard punishment to "street drug" users, while they and wifey go home and pop xanax like it's breath mints.

 

[jadillac]

I used to really enjoy exposals but now I can't fukk with them. Yeah the pharmaceutical industry is corrupt in some aspects, so is the justice department, so is the government, so is any big corporation, so is any religion, so is the food industry.

Everything is corrupt and fukked, but what are people going to do about it? I'm living good, enjoying my life knowing this is how the world works because it is impossible to stop people from being greedy a$$holes.

I'm all for embarrassing big companies, but this shyt just pisses me off out of frustration cause it feels like nothing can be down to ever end this.

But everyone doesnt know this, so exposals are needed.

 

[Tommy Fits]

But everyone doesnt know this, so exposals are needed.

Exactly, you would be surprised how many don't know about these things even after the exposes on them. I bet majority of Americans couldn't tell you who or what Monsanto is.

 

[selam]

big pharma is fukked up...a lot of the shyt people take meds for can be cured naturally

 

[Serious]

I used to really enjoy exposals but now I can't fukk with them. Yeah the pharmaceutical industry is corrupt in some aspects, so is the justice department, so is the government, so is any big corporation, so is any religion, so is the food industry.

Everything is corrupt and fukked, but what are people going to do about it? I'm living good, enjoying my life knowing this is how the world works because it is impossible to stop people from being greedy a$$holes.

I'm all for embarrassing big companies, but this shyt just pisses me off out of frustration cause it feels like nothing can be down to ever end this.

Damn, a lot of truth in this statement. I'm 20 and sh*t for what it really is. I'm currently studying Biochem. I got a few ideas to help bring change. I'm pretty motivated and time isn't an issue.

I feel bad for people who truly understand how fortunate they are to be in America. Most people don't understand how capitalism works either, even college educated cats.

College = Opportunity Cost = job is not guaranteed = econ 101

Not everyone can be the boss.


I've figured out plenty of jobs that can be created. There's a huge grey area in the STEM, liberal arts too depending on creative you are. Funny thing is most of my business ideas have derived from exploiting lower class / working people. Who are already pawns in this game of chess.

I've been studying the elite, still kind of confused about their objectives besides money

All I can say is Know the ledge. It can be very powerful in this thing called life...

My main goal is to spread awareness one step at a time. Life as we know it is beyond messed up. The problem is people are sohh controlled and manipulated. They can't even see life for what it really is. I think about this everyday and put it into perspective.

I just get tired of dealing with ignorance...

Sometimes you just have to put up with it though.....

big pharma is fukked up...a lot of the shyt people take meds for can be cured naturally

There's something too be said about this. Indians were the GOAT healers. Alot of our "natural" medicine is comes from Native Americans. They were a very smart group of people. Who know what they could have accomplished if they went undisturbed.


"Europeans" were always doing things the hard way through. Mixing various chemicals in order to create vaccinations, meanwhile native Americans knew what type of plants and recipes to make in order to Cure diseases. Eventually they ending stealing alot of "natural medicine from the Indians, sending them back to Europe and profiting like crazy...

I recommend this book to everyone:
http://www.amazon.com/Indian-Givers-Indians-Americas-Transformed/dp/0449904962

KTL is power......

 

[Pool_Shark]

Exactly, you would be surprised how many don't know about these things even after the exposes on them. I bet majority of Americans couldn't tell you who or what Monsanto is.

You guys are right but sometimes it feels like preaching to the choir. I do meet a lot of people at work that have strong political views saying they're republicans or democrats . I'm always like you know it's the same thing right?
I just assume people know all these things but I guess not. Like I said it's more of a frustration and feeling of powerlessness that these articles instill.

You are right though in that these things are necessary.