Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

[Guest guest]

I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

Laurie

http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

Associated Press

Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a report

released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

advertising on television, in print and through literature handed out

by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

Group.

The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem of

false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

" Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child, but

our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

letters from the FDA). "

Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the painkiller

which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after 18

months of use.

Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug and

biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

calls for comment.

The report released Wednesday shows:

_Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

drug's risks;

_Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

_A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

the agency for the same problem.

Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

" Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing isn't

being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

happening is completely inadequate. "

Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

Paxil.

A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

immediately return a message for comment.

[Guest guest]

I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

Laurie

http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

Associated Press

Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a report

released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

advertising on television, in print and through literature handed out

by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

Group.

The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem of

false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

" Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child, but

our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

letters from the FDA). "

Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the painkiller

which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after 18

months of use.

Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug and

biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

calls for comment.

The report released Wednesday shows:

_Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

drug's risks;

_Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

_A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

the agency for the same problem.

Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

" Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing isn't

being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

happening is completely inadequate. "

Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

Paxil.

A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

immediately return a message for comment.

[Guest guest]

I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

Laurie

http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

Associated Press

Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a report

released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

advertising on television, in print and through literature handed out

by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

Group.

The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem of

false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

" Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child, but

our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

letters from the FDA). "

Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the painkiller

which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after 18

months of use.

Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug and

biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

calls for comment.

The report released Wednesday shows:

_Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

drug's risks;

_Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

_A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

the agency for the same problem.

Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

" Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing isn't

being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

happening is completely inadequate. "

Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

Paxil.

A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

immediately return a message for comment.

[Guest guest]

I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

Laurie

http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

Associated Press

Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a report

released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

advertising on television, in print and through literature handed out

by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

Group.

The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem of

false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

" Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child, but

our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

letters from the FDA). "

Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the painkiller

which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after 18

months of use.

Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug and

biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

calls for comment.

The report released Wednesday shows:

_Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

drug's risks;

_Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

_A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

the agency for the same problem.

Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

" Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing isn't

being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

happening is completely inadequate. "

Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

Paxil.

A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

immediately return a message for comment.

[Guest guest]

This is fantastic and nedds to be pushed hard.

Jim

Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

Laurie

http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

Associated Press

Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a report

released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

advertising on television, in print and through literature handed out

by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

Group.

The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem of

false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

" Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child, but

our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

letters from the FDA). "

Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the painkiller

which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after 18

months of use.

Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug and

biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

calls for comment.

The report released Wednesday shows:

_Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

drug's risks;

_Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

_A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

the agency for the same problem.

Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

" Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing isn't

being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

happening is completely inadequate. "

Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

Paxil.

A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

immediately return a message for comment.

[Guest guest]

This is fantastic and nedds to be pushed hard.

Jim

Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

Laurie

http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

Associated Press

Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a report

released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

advertising on television, in print and through literature handed out

by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

Group.

The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem of

false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

" Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child, but

our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

letters from the FDA). "

Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the painkiller

which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after 18

months of use.

Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug and

biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

calls for comment.

The report released Wednesday shows:

_Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

drug's risks;

_Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

_A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

the agency for the same problem.

Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

" Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing isn't

being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

happening is completely inadequate. "

Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

Paxil.

A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

immediately return a message for comment.

[Guest guest]

This is fantastic and nedds to be pushed hard.

Jim

Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

Laurie

http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

Associated Press

Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a report

released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

advertising on television, in print and through literature handed out

by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

Group.

The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem of

false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

" Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child, but

our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

letters from the FDA). "

Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the painkiller

which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after 18

months of use.

Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug and

biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

calls for comment.

The report released Wednesday shows:

_Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

drug's risks;

_Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

_A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

the agency for the same problem.

Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

" Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing isn't

being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

happening is completely inadequate. "

Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

Paxil.

A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

immediately return a message for comment.

[Guest guest]

This is fantastic and nedds to be pushed hard.

Jim

Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

Laurie

http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

Associated Press

Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a report

released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

advertising on television, in print and through literature handed out

by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

Group.

The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem of

false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

" Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child, but

our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

letters from the FDA). "

Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the painkiller

which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after 18

months of use.

Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug and

biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

calls for comment.

The report released Wednesday shows:

_Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

drug's risks;

_Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

_A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

the agency for the same problem.

Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

" Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing isn't

being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

happening is completely inadequate. "

Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

Paxil.

A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

immediately return a message for comment.

[Guest guest]

Jim, this is going to be pushed VERY hard. I believe that

Pennsylvania and California are also looking at this report too.

>

> This is fantastic and nedds to be pushed hard.

>

> Jim

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

>

>

> I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

> PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

>

> Laurie

>

> http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

>

>

> http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

>

>

>

> Associated Press

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

> By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

>

> Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

> underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a

report

> released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

>

> Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

> advertising on television, in print and through literature handed

out

> by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

> ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

> written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

> Group.

>

> The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

> markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

> involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

>

> The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem

of

> false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

>

> " Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

> public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child,

but

> our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

> This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

> letters from the FDA). "

>

> Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the

painkiller

> which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

> showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after

18

> months of use.

>

> Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

>

> The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug

and

> biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

> calls for comment.

>

> The report released Wednesday shows:

>

> _Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

> report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

> physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

> drug's risks;

>

> _Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

> suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

>

> _A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

> One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

> the agency for the same problem.

>

> Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

> phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

>

> Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

> letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

> marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

> doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

>

> " Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing

isn't

> being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

> happening is completely inadequate. "

>

> Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

> parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

> without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

> familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

> daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

> Paxil.

>

> A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

> immediately return a message for comment.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Jim, this is going to be pushed VERY hard. I believe that

Pennsylvania and California are also looking at this report too.

>

> This is fantastic and nedds to be pushed hard.

>

> Jim

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

>

>

> I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

> PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

>

> Laurie

>

> http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

>

>

> http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

>

>

>

> Associated Press

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

> By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

>

> Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

> underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a

report

> released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

>

> Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

> advertising on television, in print and through literature handed

out

> by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

> ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

> written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

> Group.

>

> The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

> markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

> involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

>

> The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem

of

> false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

>

> " Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

> public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child,

but

> our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

> This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

> letters from the FDA). "

>

> Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the

painkiller

> which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

> showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after

18

> months of use.

>

> Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

>

> The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug

and

> biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

> calls for comment.

>

> The report released Wednesday shows:

>

> _Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

> report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

> physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

> drug's risks;

>

> _Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

> suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

>

> _A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

> One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

> the agency for the same problem.

>

> Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

> phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

>

> Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

> letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

> marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

> doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

>

> " Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing

isn't

> being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

> happening is completely inadequate. "

>

> Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

> parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

> without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

> familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

> daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

> Paxil.

>

> A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

> immediately return a message for comment.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Jim, this is going to be pushed VERY hard. I believe that

Pennsylvania and California are also looking at this report too.

>

> This is fantastic and nedds to be pushed hard.

>

> Jim

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

>

>

> I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

> PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

>

> Laurie

>

> http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

>

>

> http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

>

>

>

> Associated Press

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

> By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

>

> Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

> underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a

report

> released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

>

> Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

> advertising on television, in print and through literature handed

out

> by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

> ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

> written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

> Group.

>

> The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

> markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

> involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

>

> The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem

of

> false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

>

> " Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

> public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child,

but

> our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

> This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

> letters from the FDA). "

>

> Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the

painkiller

> which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

> showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after

18

> months of use.

>

> Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

>

> The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug

and

> biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

> calls for comment.

>

> The report released Wednesday shows:

>

> _Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

> report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

> physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

> drug's risks;

>

> _Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

> suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

>

> _A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

> One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

> the agency for the same problem.

>

> Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

> phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

>

> Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

> letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

> marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

> doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

>

> " Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing

isn't

> being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

> happening is completely inadequate. "

>

> Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

> parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

> without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

> familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

> daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

> Paxil.

>

> A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

> immediately return a message for comment.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Jim, this is going to be pushed VERY hard. I believe that

Pennsylvania and California are also looking at this report too.

>

> This is fantastic and nedds to be pushed hard.

>

> Jim

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

>

>

> I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

> PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

>

> Laurie

>

> http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

>

>

> http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

>

>

>

> Associated Press

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

> By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

>

> Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

> underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a

report

> released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

>

> Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

> advertising on television, in print and through literature handed

out

> by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

> ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

> written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

> Group.

>

> The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

> markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

> involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

>

> The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem

of

> false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

>

> " Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

> public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child,

but

> our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

> This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

> letters from the FDA). "

>

> Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the

painkiller

> which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

> showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after

18

> months of use.

>

> Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

>

> The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug

and

> biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

> calls for comment.

>

> The report released Wednesday shows:

>

> _Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

> report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

> physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

> drug's risks;

>

> _Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

> suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

>

> _A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

> One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

> the agency for the same problem.

>

> Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

> phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

>

> Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

> letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

> marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

> doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

>

> " Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing

isn't

> being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

> happening is completely inadequate. "

>

> Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

> parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

> without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

> familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

> daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

> Paxil.

>

> A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

> immediately return a message for comment.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'm all giddy! This is so great and has needed to happen for so long....WOW!

I personally want the advertising off the TV completely. I can't watch

anything without seeing some commerical for Cymbalta or something and

getting irritated.

I think in all honesty that people are not in general wanting to research or

clarify drug promo and seperate out the BS. I think if it was just gone then

there would be less chance of people getting fed lies all the time.

Also if the drug company billions were not being pumped into the advertising

so much maybe they could afford to finish the later studies the FDA requires

when a drug gets approved. Not to mention the media would be less likely to

twist or bury stories that might hurt their high paying clients.

Definitely keep us posted

Jim

Jim, this is going to be pushed VERY hard. I believe that

Pennsylvania and California are also looking at this report too.

>

> This is fantastic and nedds to be pushed hard.

>

> Jim

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

>

>

> I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

> PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

>

> Laurie

>

> http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

>

>

> http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

>

>

>

> Associated Press

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

> By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

>

> Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

> underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a

report

> released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

>

> Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

> advertising on television, in print and through literature handed

out

> by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

> ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

> written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

> Group.

>

> The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

> markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

> involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

>

> The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem

of

> false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

>

> " Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

> public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child,

but

> our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

> This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

> letters from the FDA). "

>

> Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the

painkiller

> which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

> showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after

18

> months of use.

>

> Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

>

> The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug

and

> biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

> calls for comment.

>

> The report released Wednesday shows:

>

> _Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

> report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

> physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

> drug's risks;

>

> _Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

> suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

>

> _A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

> One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

> the agency for the same problem.

>

> Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

> phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

>

> Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

> letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

> marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

> doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

>

> " Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing

isn't

> being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

> happening is completely inadequate. "

>

> Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

> parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

> without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

> familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

> daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

> Paxil.

>

> A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

> immediately return a message for comment.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'm all giddy! This is so great and has needed to happen for so long....WOW!

I personally want the advertising off the TV completely. I can't watch

anything without seeing some commerical for Cymbalta or something and

getting irritated.

I think in all honesty that people are not in general wanting to research or

clarify drug promo and seperate out the BS. I think if it was just gone then

there would be less chance of people getting fed lies all the time.

Also if the drug company billions were not being pumped into the advertising

so much maybe they could afford to finish the later studies the FDA requires

when a drug gets approved. Not to mention the media would be less likely to

twist or bury stories that might hurt their high paying clients.

Definitely keep us posted

Jim

Jim, this is going to be pushed VERY hard. I believe that

Pennsylvania and California are also looking at this report too.

>

> This is fantastic and nedds to be pushed hard.

>

> Jim

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

>

>

> I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

> PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

>

> Laurie

>

> http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

>

>

> http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

>

>

>

> Associated Press

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

> By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

>

> Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

> underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a

report

> released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

>

> Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

> advertising on television, in print and through literature handed

out

> by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

> ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

> written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

> Group.

>

> The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

> markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

> involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

>

> The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem

of

> false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

>

> " Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

> public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child,

but

> our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

> This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

> letters from the FDA). "

>

> Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the

painkiller

> which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

> showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after

18

> months of use.

>

> Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

>

> The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug

and

> biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

> calls for comment.

>

> The report released Wednesday shows:

>

> _Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

> report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

> physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

> drug's risks;

>

> _Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

> suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

>

> _A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

> One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

> the agency for the same problem.

>

> Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

> phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

>

> Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

> letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

> marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

> doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

>

> " Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing

isn't

> being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

> happening is completely inadequate. "

>

> Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

> parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

> without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

> familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

> daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

> Paxil.

>

> A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

> immediately return a message for comment.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'm all giddy! This is so great and has needed to happen for so long....WOW!

I personally want the advertising off the TV completely. I can't watch

anything without seeing some commerical for Cymbalta or something and

getting irritated.

I think in all honesty that people are not in general wanting to research or

clarify drug promo and seperate out the BS. I think if it was just gone then

there would be less chance of people getting fed lies all the time.

Also if the drug company billions were not being pumped into the advertising

so much maybe they could afford to finish the later studies the FDA requires

when a drug gets approved. Not to mention the media would be less likely to

twist or bury stories that might hurt their high paying clients.

Definitely keep us posted

Jim

Jim, this is going to be pushed VERY hard. I believe that

Pennsylvania and California are also looking at this report too.

>

> This is fantastic and nedds to be pushed hard.

>

> Jim

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

>

>

> I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

> PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

>

> Laurie

>

> http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

>

>

> http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

>

>

>

> Associated Press

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

> By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

>

> Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

> underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a

report

> released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

>

> Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

> advertising on television, in print and through literature handed

out

> by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

> ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

> written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

> Group.

>

> The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

> markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

> involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

>

> The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem

of

> false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

>

> " Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

> public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child,

but

> our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

> This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

> letters from the FDA). "

>

> Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the

painkiller

> which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

> showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after

18

> months of use.

>

> Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

>

> The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug

and

> biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

> calls for comment.

>

> The report released Wednesday shows:

>

> _Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

> report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

> physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

> drug's risks;

>

> _Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

> suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

>

> _A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

> One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

> the agency for the same problem.

>

> Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

> phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

>

> Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

> letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

> marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

> doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

>

> " Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing

isn't

> being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

> happening is completely inadequate. "

>

> Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

> parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

> without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

> familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

> daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

> Paxil.

>

> A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

> immediately return a message for comment.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'm all giddy! This is so great and has needed to happen for so long....WOW!

I personally want the advertising off the TV completely. I can't watch

anything without seeing some commerical for Cymbalta or something and

getting irritated.

I think in all honesty that people are not in general wanting to research or

clarify drug promo and seperate out the BS. I think if it was just gone then

there would be less chance of people getting fed lies all the time.

Also if the drug company billions were not being pumped into the advertising

so much maybe they could afford to finish the later studies the FDA requires

when a drug gets approved. Not to mention the media would be less likely to

twist or bury stories that might hurt their high paying clients.

Definitely keep us posted

Jim

Jim, this is going to be pushed VERY hard. I believe that

Pennsylvania and California are also looking at this report too.

>

> This is fantastic and nedds to be pushed hard.

>

> Jim

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

>

>

> I did this press conference this morning.. You can read the whole

> PIRG report here, VERY well researched!

>

> Laurie

>

> http://njpirg.org/NJ.asp?id2=24023

>

>

> http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/05/03/ap2718572.html

>

>

>

> Associated Press

> Group Says Drug Makers Exaggerate Claims

> By ANGELA DELLI SANTI , 05.03.2006, 03:46 PM

>

> Drug makers commonly exaggerate claims, promote unproven uses and

> underplay medicines when marketing to doctors and customers, a

report

> released on Wednesday by a national consumer advocacy group says.

>

> Doctors and consumers are inundated with false and misleading

> advertising on television, in print and through literature handed

out

> by drug sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration is

> ineffective at stopping the abuses, says the report, which was

> written by the New Jersey chapter of the Public Interest Research

> Group.

>

> The group analyzed 170 enforcement letters the FDA sent to drug

> markers over five years through 2005 detailing deceptive claims

> involving Vioxx, Paxil, and 148 other drugs.

>

> The report's author, Abigail Caplovitz, characterized the problem

of

> false drug claims as " broad and serious. "

>

> " Drug marketers are pushing drugs in deceptive ways that put the

> public at risk, " Caplovitz said. " Vioxx may be the poster child,

but

> our report shows the problem is pervasive throughout the industry.

> This is not a matter of a single bad apple - 85 companies (received

> letters from the FDA). "

>

> Vioxx's maker Merck and Co. faces 11,500 lawsuits over the

painkiller

> which the company removed from the market in 2004 after a study

> showed it doubled patients risk of heart attacks and strokes after

18

> months of use.

>

> Merck didn't immediately return a call for comment.

>

> The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug

and

> biotech company trade association, also did not immediately return

> calls for comment.

>

> The report released Wednesday shows:

>

> _Some 62 percent of false or misleading messages documented in the

> report targeted doctors. In more than a third of those cases,

> physicians received information minimizing or misrepresenting a

> drug's risks;

>

> _Drug marketers turned clinical trials into marketing tools by

> suppressing unfavorable results, or misreporting results;

>

> _A letter from the FDA did not always deter deceptive advertising:

> One-third of the drug marketers received more than one letter from

> the agency for the same problem.

>

> Bro, a spokeswoman for the FDA, did not immediately return

> phone or e-mail messages seeking comment.

>

> Caplovitz said the report understates the problem because it relies

> letters from the FDA, an agency that reviews only a portion of drug

> marketers' advertising and a tiny fraction of the marketing to

> doctors at conferences and by sales reps who visit their offices.

>

> " Perhaps most disturbing, we found that a lot of drug marketing

isn't

> being monitored all, " said Caplovitz. " The monitoring that is

> happening is completely inadequate. "

>

> Laurie Yorke, a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, cautioned

> parents about allowing their child to take powerful prescription

> without researching accepted uses for the medication and becoming

> familiar with its possible side effects. She said her teenage

> daughter had psychotic episodes after taking the antidepressant

> Paxil.

>

> A spokesperson for GlaxoKline, Paxil's maker, did not

> immediately return a message for comment.

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