Monday, November 15, 2004

New Antidepressant Drug Approved, But It's All About Profits, Not Helping Patients
Commentary column at DepressionFactor.org - "The FDA has now approved Eli Lilly's new drug, Cymbalta, for treatment of depression. The new drug is expected to generate peak annual sales of about $2 billion, and is being described as a "much-needed boon for Eli Lilly after the sales of its former top-selling antidepressant Prozac fell due to generic competition." Let's take a closer look at the dynamics here. The big news being focused on in the mainstream media isn't that there is some new drug that can help people with depression -- the big news is that this is a new revenue generator for Eli Lilly. In the world of pharmaceuticals, it's always about profit and sales, and almost never about actually helping patients..."  
  

UK Government Tells Drug Firms to Disclose Clinical Data
Reuters Health story at Medscape - "The British government demanded on Thursday that all drug makers publish clinical trial data on marketed medicines and set new guidelines to ensure its regulators were not influenced by corporations. 'We want to see faster progress,' Health Minister Lord Warner told reporters. 'If we don't see it, I will be inviting senior members of the companies concerned to come and have a friendly discussion.' UK regulators are concerned that only a few companies, such as GlaxoSmithKline Plc, have started publishing their clinical trial results." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].