Pharmaceutical Companies

There's No Excuse for Overmedicating the Elderly

Liz Spikol | Posted 06.24.2008 | Business


Liz Spikol

The elderly in nursing homes have long been treated poorly, as so many guilty adult children (cf. The Savages) can attest. But because of societal p...

Do You Believe in Objective (Ha! Ha! Wink, Wink!) Science?

Alison Rose Levy | Posted 05.17.2008 | Living


Alison Rose Levy

There's no doubt that some drugs are beneficial and even life-saving, but there's no way to know which ones are truly effective or necessary until all the real outcomes are considered.

Welcome to The New World DisOrders -- They Are Legion

Carol Maric | Posted 05.12.2008 | Politics


Carol Maric

If Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton can be relegated to the ranks of "Autism" these days, then The New World does seem perilously close to being upside down--as I have always suspected.

Drug Patent Rules Must Allow Exceptions for Public Health

Mark Weisbrot | Posted 03.26.2008 | Politics


Mark Weisbrot

The pharmaceutical companies argue that they need to protect their patents in order to fund the research and development that produces new drugs.

Pfizer Pulls Misleading Lipitor Ads

New York TImes | Stephanie Saul | Posted 02.26.2008 | Business


Under criticism that its ads are misleading, Pfizer said Monday that it would cancel a long-running advertising campaign using the artificial heart pi...

Inside Ambien Abuse

Newsweek | Karen Springen | Posted 02.22.2008 | Living


When it comes to teens and drug abuse, prescription medications (or "pharmies") are now second only to marijuana in popularity. Overall, teen abuse of...

Big Pharma Raised Top Drug Prices By 7.8 Percent In 2007

Wall Street Journal | HEATHER WON TESORIERO | Posted 02.21.2008 | Business


The pharmaceutical industry has been a frequent target in the current presidential campaign, but that hasn't stopped it from continuing to aggressivel...

Overmedication Nation

The New York Times | Judith Warner | Posted 02.15.2008 | Living


This storyline persists despite the fact that government research has repeatedly shown that most adults and children with mental health issues don't g...

The Stop-Smoking Drug That Could Make You Crazy

New York Magazine | Derek de Koff | Posted 02.11.2008 | Living


Things were looking good. My doctor had gone through the test results and told me I was perfectly healthy--except my breathing was a little shallow. T...

Merck Settles With Govt Over Rebates

AP | LINDA A. JOHNSON | Posted 02.07.2008 | Business


TRENTON, N.J. — In one of the biggest U.S. health care fraud settlements ever, Merck & Co. will pay $671 million to settle claims it overcharged...

Wyeth Sues Teva Over Heartburn Drug

AP | DAMIAN J. TROISE | Posted 12.24.2007 | Business


A patent dispute over the heartburn drug Protonix escalated Monday when Wyeth said it will sue to recover lost profits from sales of Teva Pharmaceutic...

Novartis To Cut 2,500 Jobs

AP | Posted 12.13.2007 | Business


Novartis AG will cut 2,500 jobs worldwide by 2010 in an attempt to save $1.6 billion, the drug maker said Thursday. The company said it would take a ...

Big Pharma Frets As Major Patent Expirations Loom

Wall Street Journal | BARBARA MARTINEZ, JACOB GOLDSTEIN | Posted 12.06.2007 | Business


Over the next few years, the pharmaceutical business will hit a wall. Some of the top-selling drugs in industry history will become history as patent...

Bristol-Myers To Cut 4,300 Jobs

BBC News | Posted 12.05.2007 | Business


US drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb says it will cut its 43,000-strong workforce by 10% and close half of its 27 manufacturing plants to save $1.5bn. T...

The Blame Game

Richard Miller | Posted 12.05.2007 | Politics


Richard Miller

The FDA is letting potential benefits fall by the wayside by using outdated rigid statistical approaches, contributing to a drop-off in important new drugs being brought to market.

Over Medicated and Over-Vaccinated: The Unintended Consequences of Medicines Meant to Protect

Deirdre Imus | Posted 11.19.2007 | Living


Deirdre Imus

Why is it that veterinarians have a better appreciation than mainstream physicians of how over-vaccinating might overload the immune system?

Are These People Completely Out of Their Minds?

Doug Bremner | Posted 10.30.2007 | Politics


Doug Bremner

In spite of the fact that during the time of Bill Hillary was ready to take a hatchet to the insurance companies, now the insurance companies are falling over themselves to shower her with dollars.