New EU health chief questions plan to let drug industry communicate directly with patients
24/01/2010 by admin.
John Dalli, a former Maltese economy and social affairs minister, will have more influence over public health policy than any of his predecessors when he takes up his post as the European Union’s health commissioner next month.
Mr Dalli has set out his priorities. He will press ahead with two relatively non-controversial pharmaceutical proposals already on the table: stepping up measures against counterfeit drugs and improving pharmacovigilance.
But he expressed strong concerns about controversial plans to allow drug companies to communicate directly with the public by allowing companies, under certain conditions, to publish information on their products in newspapers and magazines.
“We will reassess the package on information and bring more patient perspective to the proposal,” he said, adding that the reassessment would include stronger demarcation between information and advertising. “You do not want a situation where people in a vulnerable position can be coerced to purchase a product that may not be good for them,” he said
For full article, go to http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/340/jan20_2/c353
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European Commission targets drug firms over illegal patent protection
24/01/2010 by admin.
The European Commission is stepping up pressure on drug companies it suspects of using illegal sweetener deals to protect their patents and prevent cheaper generic drugs from entering the market.
Just three weeks before she is due to stand down as European Union Competition Commissioner, Neelie Kroes has asked several European companies to supply her staff with copies of their patent settlement agreements.
The commission did not divulge the identities of the companies it had targeted. But several confirmed they had been contacted and asked to provide documentation, including annexes, of all agreements with generic drug producers concluded between 1 July 2008 and 31 December 2009. These included AstraZeneca plc, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis, and Roche.
For full article, go to http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/340/jan15_2/c268
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WHO and Big Pharma: Guilty of Blackmail and Extortion in Swine Flu Fiasco?
21/01/2010 by admin.
On January 25 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will launch an emergency inquiry regarding the influence of pharmaceutical companies on the global swine flu campaign.
The inquiry will focus on the drug industry’s influence on the World Health Organization (WHO).
The motion was introduced by Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg, head of health at the Council of Europe, who has accused the makers of flu drugs and vaccines of influencing the World Health Organization’s decision to declare a pandemic.
The motion has now been signed by 14 members from 10 countries sitting on the EU’s Health Committee, who are angry that nations all over the world, and particularly in Europe, have wasted scarce health funds on a contrived “pandemic.”
The investigation is listed on the EU’s draft agenda as “Request for Debate Under Urgent Procedure on ‘Faked Pandemics – A Threat for Health’.”
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Harvard tightens rules on industry payments to top professors
15/01/2010 by admin.
Harvard University has tightened its regulations for doctors and scientists who consult for drug companies and medical device makers.
Ties between prominent doctors and drug companies have been scrutinised lately, especially by Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican.
About two dozen of Harvard’s highest flyers, those who sit on the boards of drug companies, are most affected. Under the rules, introduced on 1 January, they can earn no more than $5000 (£3100; 
3440) per 10 hour day for service on the board of a drug or device company and may not accept company stock in payment.
The rules also apply to about 6000 doctors, researchers, institutional officers, and other employees at Partners HealthCare, a Harvard affiliated healthcare group.
Read article at http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/340/jan12_2/c172
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Health department consults on automatic substitution of generics
15/01/2010 by admin.
England’s Department of Health has launched a consultation on proposals for automatic generic substitution, in which pharmacists could dispense generic forms of drugs instead of branded versions even if the prescribing doctor or nurse has written a prescription for a brand.
The consultation report outlines three options. The first is to keep the current arrangements, in which pharmacists are required to dispense exactly what is written on a prescription and cannot substitute a generic version for a brand name drug without prior agreement with the prescriber. The second would allow substitution of generic equivalents but would specify a list of exempt products. The third option, preferred by the health department, would allow generic substitution of a specified group of products.
Read article at http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/340/jan08_3/c135
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WHO vaccine expert had conflict of interest, Danish newspaper claims
15/01/2010 by admin.
Controversy has arisen at the World Health Organization after allegations that some WHO experts, including a leading vaccine adviser, have financial ties to the drug industry.
Documents acquired through the Danish Freedom of Information Act by the Danish daily newspaper Information show that Juhani Eskola, a Finnish vaccines adviser on the WHO board, has received £5.6m (6.2m; $9m) for his research centre, the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare. The money, from GlaxoSmithKline for research on vaccines during 2009, is the institute’s main source of income.
Professor Eskola is the deputy director general of the institute and a member of WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), which advises member states on which vaccines to use and how much of these they should purchase.
GlaxoSmithKline produces the H1N1 vaccine Pandemrix, which the Finnish government stockpiled after recommendations from Professor Eskola’s institute and WHO.
Read article at http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/340/jan12_2/c201
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Politician accuses drug companies of overplaying dangers of H1N1
15/01/2010 by admin.
Drug companies are being accused of unnecessarily raising fears over the H1N1 swine flu virus so as to increase profits by boosting sales of their new vaccines.
The allegations, made in the parliamentary assembly of the Strasbourg based Council of Europe, are surfacing as several countries, notably the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, are looking to dispose of excess supplies of the unwanted vaccines (BMJ 2010;340:c170, 11 Jan, doi:10.1136/bmj.c170).
Wolfgang Wodarg, a German Social Democrat MP and chairman of the assembly’s health subcommittee, is, with the support of a cross party group of Council of Europe parliamentarians, pressing for a pan-European investigation into the role of the companies in the current pandemic.
“We have twice had major alarms. The first was with bird flu, and now this. It looks like a big marketing campaign for extra profits and costs health authorities a lot of money,” he said.
Read article at http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/340/jan12_2/c198
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January’s DTB
12/01/2010 by admin.
The January 2010 issue of Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) [volume 48,
number 1] contains an editorial and three articles. In an editorial and an
accompanying podcast in March 2009, we highlighted issues about ‘high
street mole clinics’. These included concerns that new imaging technologies
might be used in such clinics by clinicians lacking appropriate training.
Our editorial this month discusses some developments in this area. The
issue also includes a review of the management of medication overuse
headache, a review of the role of cognitive behavioural therapy for
schizophrenia, and a review of tocilizumab for rheumatoid arthritis. A
podcast outlining what is in the January issue is also available via our
website www.dtb.bmj.com.
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Confidential Documents From WHO R&D Finance Group, Industry, Raise Concern
05/01/2010 by admin.
Confidential documents related to the World Health Organization Expert Working Group on innovative financing for research and development surfaced today, revealing the group’s thinking as well as pharmaceutical industry thinking about the WHO process. The documents immediately raised concern about possible undue access to the process by industry, but the WHO told Intellectual Property Watch the industry group was not supposed to have them.
For full article go to http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2009/12/09/confidential-documents-released-fr%0Aom-who-rd-finance-group-pharmaceutical-industry/
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December’s DTB
25/12/2009 by admin.
The December 2010 issue of Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) [volume 47, number 12] contains an editorial and three articles. The editorial discusses the problems raised by C. difficile infections occurring outside hospital. The issue also includes a review of the management of gastro-oesophageal refux in infants, a review of the role of strong opioids for osteoarthritis in primary care, and a review of generic prescribing in epilepsy. A podcast outlining what is in the December issue is also available via our website www.dtb.bmj.com.
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