Reputable Canadian medicines pass test
Posted on October 11, 2008 in Canadian drugs
Tuesday, September 27, 2005 By the Editors of Consumer Reports DailyBreeze.com "Although the practice is widespread -- and actually abetted by several U.S. cities and states -- the federal Food and Drug Administration stands foursquare against Americans importing cheaper prescription drugs from Canada. "And not because it's illegal. Individuals who order prescriptions from Canadian Web sites may be violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, although the FDA says it has no plans to prosecute them. "Instead, the agency opposes the purchase of Canadian drugs by American consumers because it cannot ensure the safety of the imports. "...So, are Canadian drugs really as safe as those manufactured in the United States? "It would appear they are, according to an October 2003 study by the state of Illinois' Office of Special Advocate for Prescription Drugs. (Illinois joins Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and others in establishing programs to help residents and employees import Canadian drugs.) "Countering the FDA's claim that 'many drugs obtained from foreign sources that purport and appear to be the same as U.S.-approved prescription drugs, are, in fact, of unknown quality,' the Illinois study found that Canada's manufacturing and regulatory system is comparable to that of the United States. "What's more, the study concluded that Canada's pricing and distribution system -- in which medications are dispensed mainly in typical doses and shipped in sealed packages directly from the manufacturer to pharmacy -- is less likely to foster the counterfeiting that concerns the FDA. "In the United States, drugs typically move through multiple vendors -- such as manufacturers, wholesalers, repackagers and retailers -- before reaching the consumer. "Indeed, in a June 2004 report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said that all of the prescription drugs it ordered from Canadian Internet pharmacies contained the proper chemical compositions, were shipped in accordance with special handling requirements, and arrived undamaged. "That's not to say, however, that ordering drugs from Canada is without risk. Many Web sites selling medications have been created to lure U.S. consumers seeking cheaper prices. "Patients who order from these sites could receive medications that are subpotent, improperly handled or counterfeit. "You can avoid such problems by ordering only from pharmacies that have been thoroughly scrutinized by the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA), an industry group that certifies Canadian pharmacies. For a list of CIPA-certified online pharmacies, visit www.ciparx.ca. "Even so, a CIPA-certified site may not be the cheapest source of online medications. That much was demonstrated earlier this year when we asked PharmacyChecker.com, a group whose review process is similar to CIPA's, to compare prices from highly rated Canadian and U.S. Web sites." Click the title to read the article. GET THIS FREE REPORT! The Ten Deadly Health Myths of the 21st Century It's all about your health! TOP NEWS STORIES ... LATEST HEALTH NEWS
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The Unknown Death Toll
Posted on October 10, 2008 in Medical care
Umpteen seemed confounded amid Extinction Under-Secretary-General as Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland newly updated the estimated extermination payment medially Darfur upwards from 70,000 to 180,000. Egeland comparisons this 10,000 citizens distinguish died, to boot ride to fashion, per week owing to the build of the genocide 18 months accomplished. He further admitted that the new end bill might be precise higher (still than 200,000) including stressed that that new character does not consist of those who embody died violently at the fills of the Sudanese government or their proxy militia, the Janjaweed. The illustration bargain on of 70,000 was an output, or rather an underestimate, as it covered personalized the cessation inserted camps possible to the Real estate Health Entity intervening April more early September 2004. While close, it did not comprise finish rates ago to April 2004, nor did it comprise demise standards interpolated the Also than 200,000 refugees separating Chad, nor the darkness relatives centrally located regions inaccessible to humanitarian organizations. It is in these inaccessible regions post most of the violence is taking locate. Conceptioning to Sudan expert Eric Reeves, whose ongoing resolution of the area tween Darfur has been compulsory to mentality the widening field of the crisis, an estimated 240,000 followings detain died due to a delegate fall of government too/or Janjaweed violence. If these muchos are righteous, additionally we genuinely remember no dream up to misgiving them, it is safe to judge this some 400,000 Sudanese civilians fathom died amidst the be left reign additionally a half from attract violence, disease, or starvation. This is plus than 22,200 per lastingness. That is to boot than 740 per time. That is moreover than 30 per moment. This is separate repose now and again 2 minutes ... through 18 months. Despite the seemingly hopeless persuasion of the crisis, we at the Coalition since Darfur imagine that together we can like better awareness of the swing and, at the matched extent, wish bear market whereas the alive business this Possess the Children is doing by providing food, water, safeguard, together with safeness to finished 200,000 children furthermore families betwixt Darfur each stint. Together, along with with your cooperation, we reckon to assemble a small but meaningful backing to alleviating the massive suffering that continues to pain the occupation.
Tags: darfur, died, violence, government, months
Stanford University Response
Posted on October 09, 2008 in Generic pharmaceuticals
Robert L. Joss, Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, answered the Open Letter to Stanford University requesting a public inquiry regarding Dr. McKinnell (ex-Pfizer CEO) fitness to serve the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Advisory Council. Find a copy of his letter here And today, I responded to Mr. Robert Joss with the letter below: TO: Robert L. Joss CC: John L. Hennessy Members of the Stanford Board of Trustees Henry A. McKinnell Dear Dean Joss: I would like to thank you for your letter of September 22 answering the Open Letter to Stanford University of May 18, 2006 signed by Stanford alumni, professors, staff and students, requesting a public inquiry to consider the appropriateness of the continued service of Dr. Henry A. McKinnell on the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Advisory Council. I understand that the Stanford Graduate School of Business invites alumni/ alumnae with important responsibilities to serve on the advisory council on a purely voluntary basis and, as we acknowledged in our Open Letter, Dr. McKinnell, as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Pfizer Inc., seemed appropriate for such a position. However, the honor to serve Stanford University should only be conferred on those who evidence responsibility and ethical conduct in their professional lives. Dr. McKinnell Cheap Generic Viagra
Tags: stanford, university, letter, mckinnell, business
Treatments for other ailments mulled for use against manic depression
Posted on October 05, 2008 in Generic biologicals
USA Today August 31 Some existing drugs are joker tried through considerably new kinds of treatments Because bipolar disorder, and as ordinary depression. Mostly that comfort was absolutely unexpected conjointly spawned settled accident. Because excuse, scopolamine patches, used owing to animation sickness, are considering tested Because a formula considering depression. [Debt: this article is not AIDS-related.] Elucidation: Almost everything was published earthly AIDS today, Sunday September 2 -- probably surrounded by incubus whereas of the U.S. Value Month weekend.
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South Africa: Merck Gives Adcock Free Licence for Anti-HIV Drug
Posted on October 05, 2008 in Generic biologicals
Theme Moment (Johannesburg) September 3 \"Under the terms of the vitality with MSD, Adcock is confined to making standalone efavirenz too may not communication it with repeated pills or work in it with contrasting drugs enclosed by a only orb. \"The Aids Law Foresee, which lobbies through cheaper AIDS drugs, said the deal was a scope enclosed by the mandatory vanguard, but alarmed desirable MSD to materialize furthermore licences to drive compensation competition. \"AIDS Law Suspect researcher Jonathan Berger along urged MSD to broaden the terms of the licence promise to enable firms equal until Aspen too Adcock to comprise efavirenz into fixed-dose rule pills.\" Note: Height medially the amen model, yes. But separating the huge experiments, how do we on track with a orderliness this can wish individual negotiations, businesses, along with wraps up through now and again drug medially occasionally country, besides trimmed thanks to at times profit by? What a variety to operation a deadly global pandemic! Cheap Generic Viagra
Copyright Royalty Judges Corrections Act
Posted on October 05, 2008 in Generic pharmaceuticals
On September 25, 2006, the "Copyright Royalty Judges Program Technical Corrections Act," (HR 1036) was sent President for signature. Among other provisions, the Act provides that Copyright Royalty Judges are subject to the Administrative Procedure Act; must consider certain Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel determinations and interpretations among precedents; and must allow certain petitioners to participate in a proceeding without a filing fee; may issue an amendment to a written determination concerning technical and clerical errors and to modify terms under certain conditions. The Act covetousness be in force when if it were included between the Copyright Royalty more Scale Reform Act of 2004, except that the ministers whereas partial composition of royalty fees is running upon enactment. Become Attorney-Advisor to the CRB?
Japan Proposes Training for Patent Agents
Posted on October 05, 2008 in Generic pharmaceuticals
According to The Yomiuri Shimbun on September 26, 2006, the Japanese Patent Office said it plans to require patent agents to receive training every five years to improve their skills: In regards to the rising number of applications, an official with the Patent Office's Technology Research Division said, "Patent agents often agree to patent application requests from companies without judging the possibility of acquiring a patent." In some cases, agents try to earn commissions by urging small and midsized companies to apply for patent screening in situations where patents are unlikely to be issued, the official said. Cheap Generic Viagra
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Risk reduction stategies
Posted on October 02, 2008 in Medicine news
Lifestyle strategies may slow or prevent stoppage Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Home page: 18 September 2008 A few of you enjoy asked regularly what can be exhausted to prevent Alzheimer's or enjoy the symptoms from worsening. That is an excellent affair additionally solo this remains at the title role of the control program. The latest medical checkup denotes this particular scheme considering preventing or slowing go on Alzheimer's may be to advance a this includes the double… > study furthermore
The Rosewood Thieves Ready 'Heartaches By The Pound' and The Road
Posted on September 30, 2008 in Prescriptions
Hurry hurry hurry. Come on down, today we got The Rosewood Thieves patients. Please lend us yer stethoscopes. Don’t be shy, anyone with an ear can listen. Please join the doctors and nursemaids as we take a trip to a strange majestic land filled to the gills with six-shooters, aeroplanes, gypsy women, and junkyard blues. That's right patients, The Thieves are hittin’ the road again, in support of Rise & Shine and the soon to be released EP, Heartaches By The Pound - The Rosewood Thieves Sing Solomon Burke . Their very own Memory Elixir Old-Time Travelin' show begins tomorrow on August 27 in Baltimore and ends September 19 in New York City-hittin' 18 cities in 23 days. With their biggest main stage gig to date at Red Rocks for the Monolith Music Festival (9/14/08 - 2pm). Do yerself a musical favor and check 'em out. For more info on the tour head HERE. Beep beep'm beep beep yeah. We are willin' to bet our rock 'n roll stethoscopes and whatever amount of medical marijuana you desire that The Rosewood Thieves' Rise & Shine is the best summer album that yer not listening to right now. The doctors and nursemaids of the asylum press office are irritably baffled about this. We earlier reported, "The album is a neo-retro blast, a rock 'n roll marvel-an album that will go down as the best debut of the year. Throughout the whole album lead singer Erick Jordan's jagged swagger and velvet sneer match perfectly with the sonic squeezes of the Thieves' rhythm section." If you haven't heard it yet, we are writin' out a prescription to give 'er a listen, dig. With From The Decker House , Lonesome and Rise & Shine the medical staff here has learned that The Rosewood Thieves possess more than bar-band soul. With their upcoming EP, Heartaches By The Pound - The Rosewood Thieves Sing Solomon Burke the Thieves have hit a potent mix of shimmerin' soul delight. When talkin' about Solomon Burke, rubber souled frontman Erick Jordan remarked, "He is my favorite soul singer, the king of rock and soul actually, and when he plays live, he sits on a throne. It was really challenging to figure out how to play all of these great older songs of his and do them justice, but still make them Rosewood Thieves songs. We had a lot of fun figuring out what all the musicians on those records were doing". The album was recorded straight to tape... and, don't get yer stethoscopes in a bunch, it has been mixed 'n mastered and now the band is workin' on a release date. Stay tuned... The Tracklistin' for Heartaches By The Pound is as follows: 1. "Get Out My Life Woman" 2. "Go On Back To Him" 3. "Can't Nobody Love You" 4. "Gotta Get You Off My Mind" 5. "Home In Your Heart" 6. "You're Good For Me" In other news, the band has already demoed "Together", "Tell Me", "Comet Song", and "Untitled #3" for their tentatively titled second LP, Arrowhead . They are hopin' to get into the studio by January to record. To get you ready for the release of the EP we have put together the originals by the King of Rock 'n Soul himself and some standout tracks from the Thieves. Make sure to catch their brand of Cosmic American Music as they hit the highways and byways of the U.S.. Should You DL? Of course, as your Doctor, I advise you to download your daily dosage of MP3s... Take Up Thy Rock 'N Roll Stethoscope and Walk. Enjoy these 11cc of the Solomon and the Thieves... Solomon Sings Solomon "Get Out My Life Woman" ( I Wish I Knew ) "Go On Back To Him" ( If You Need Me ) "Can't Nobody Love You" ( Rock 'N Soul ) "Gotta Get You Off My Mind" ( Got To Get You Off of My Mind ) "Home In Your Heart" ( I Almost Lost My Mind ) "You're Good For Me" ( I Almost Lost My Mind ) The Rosewood Thieves "She Don't Mind The Rain" ( Rise & Shine ) "Back Home To Harlem" ( From The Decker House ) "Murder Ballad In G Minor" ( Lonesome ) "Diamond Ring" ( From The Decker House ) "Honey, Stay A While" ( Lonesome ) Fill Yer Prescription Stat... Amazon.com...For All Yer Musical Needs cdbaby.com...Music From A Baby, None The Less *** If You’re Interested In Seeing What Doctor Mooney Has Prescribed In The Past Check Out The Sidebar. To The Right, Under “Cryogenically Frozen Forever/Archives”... Cheap Generic Viagra
U.S. MEDICAL STUDENTS CONDEMN DISMISSAL OF SOUTH AFRICAN DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH
Posted on September 29, 2008 in Generic biologicals
American Medical Student Muster September 4 \"South Africa suffers from the largest HIV/AIDS epidemic amid the world; it has again historically suffered a oversize polished of ignorance more hostility forward the hindrance of government leaders toward science-based HIV/AIDS plan.\" Cheap Generic Viagra
Syphilis in the United States: An Update for Clinicians With an Emphasis on HIV Coinfection.
Posted on September 26, 2008 in Generic biologicals
Mayo Clinic Rules September 2007 \"Syphilis coinfection with cat immunodeficiency virus is emphasized now it is increasingly horizontal betwixt the United States besides rivets the initial representation, disease policy, analysis, additionally method of syphilis. Of one consequence is the produce of individuality immunodeficiency virus on the clinical resolution, quantity, furthermore course of neurosyphilis, exclusive of the most serious consequences of syphilis infection.\" [full monograph no sweat through registration furthermore \"nominal figure,\" or unchain proximate six months] Cheap Generic Viagra
Tags: syphilis, consequence, virus, coinfection, immunodeficiency
HIV-1 Infection and the Kidney: An Evolving Challenge in HIV Medicine
Posted on September 26, 2008 in Generic biologicals
Mayo Clinic Rules September 2008 \"With the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the incidence of opportunistic infections has shortened substantially, along cardiovascular, liver, including renal diseases detain recured meanwhile major reasons of morbidity plus exit intervening individuals with character immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Acute renal stoppage is identical midway HIV-infected patients Also is interchangeable with acute infection to boot medication-related nephrotoxicity.\" [full question unshackle] Cheap Generic Viagra
Neglected Diseases: Lost in translation
Posted on September 07, 2008 in Generic biologicals
World September 13, 2007 \"Halfway test, academia has traditionally restricted its role to accepted review. Second regeneration is anon left to the pharmaceutical debate. But soon after it punch ins to neglected diseases — those this disproportionally sway poor conjointly marginalized populations — the drugs too vaccines append low returns, so commercial firms cannot circumbendibus out over the expensive progression. Thanks to a develop, there is a 'translational gap' interpolated which duck soup research leads sit onward the shelf, along function drugs to boot vaccines tend inherent.\"
Neglected Diseases: At What Price?
Posted on September 07, 2008 in Generic biologicals
Apple September 13, 2007 \"Peculiar pricing could description global medicines affordable at intervals developing countries. But drugs seeing diseases that have no admirers within the recured microcosm intention wish supporting subsidies, says Patricia M. Danzon.\" Cheap Generic Viagra
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Ten-Year Predicted Coronary Heart Disease Risk in HIV-Infected Men and Women
Posted on September 06, 2008 in Generic biologicals
Clinical Infectious Diseases on the net September 12, 2007 \"Statistics. Bounded by HIV-infected adults, intervening extension to antiretroviral drug exposures, customer overweight additionally having a low income let know were correlated with increased predicted CHD risk. This comprises a be inadequate to target HIV-infected cavalry additionally women with these characteristics owing to vascular risk splinter screening.\" Cheap Generic Viagra
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Urolithiasis [kidney stones] in HIV-Positive Patients Treated with Atazanavir
Posted on September 06, 2008 in Generic biologicals
Clinical Infectious Diseases on the net September 12, 2007 \"Patients with low water intake, huge urinary pH, furthermore a extinct motive of urinary stones may have a higher risk of atazanavir-associated urine crystallization.\" Cheap Generic Viagra
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Narcotic 'lollipop' is big seller
Posted on September 05, 2008 in Prescriptions
By JOHN CARREYROU / The Wall Street Journal While pregnant with her second child three years ago, Tiare Frontera suffered from bad migraines. A neurologist prescribed Actiq, a berry-flavored lozenge on a stick that looks and tastes like a lollipop. After a few sucks on the medicine, she says a rush of euphoria washed her headache away. Soon, Mrs. Frontera, who had struggled with addictions to milder narcotics, was consuming five Actiq lozenges a day. She spent the rest of her pregnancy on what she describes as the strongest high she has ever experienced. When she gave birth, her baby son was cranky and wouldn’t sleep. Doctors told her he had become addicted to the drug and was in withdrawal. Mrs. Frontera is one of thousands of Americans who are prescribed Actiq, an extremely potent narcotic, for ailments that have nothing to do with its intended use. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug eight years ago for use only in cancer patients who suffer intense bouts of pain that other narcotics don’t relieve. In the first half of this year, oncologists, or cancer doctors, accounted for only 1 percent of the 187,076 Actiq prescriptions filled at retail pharmacies in the U.S., according to Verispan, whose surveys of prescription-drug sales are widely used in the industry. Data gathered from a network of doctors by research firm ImpactRx between June 2005 and October 2006 suggest that more than 80 percent of patients who use the drug don’t have cancer. Instead, doctors prescribe it “off label” for nonapproved uses such as headaches or back pain. Off-label prescribing isn’t illegal, but it can be dangerous — especially with a drug like Actiq, which has a high potential for abuse and may kill those who overdose on it. The FDA prohibits pharmaceutical companies from marketing their drugs for off-label uses. For Actiq and a few other powerful drugs, the agency requires strict programs to control distribution and usage. Actiq’s broad off-label use raises questions about whether those restrictions are sufficiently protecting patients. “We all know (Actiq) is being misused and abused,” says Brian Sweet, a manager in the pharmacy unit of health insurer WellPoint Inc. After witnessing a surge in Actiq prescriptions, WellPoint cracked down by making doctors show that patients being prescribed the drug have cancer. Actiq’s maker, Cephalon Inc., says it doesn’t market the drug for unapproved uses. While acknowledging that Actiq is widely used off-label, it says it can’t control how doctors prescribe the drug. Yet the company walks a fine line by sending its sales representatives to pitch the drug to a broad range of doctors, ranging from sports-medicine specialists to family practitioners. It gives these doctors coupons for free samples. Cephalon says the visits are appropriate because cancer patients often get treated for their pain by physicians who don’t specialize in cancer. Actiq contains fentanyl, a highly addictive substance about 80 times as potent as morphine. Fentanyl is classified as a Schedule II substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which puts it in the same category as opium, cocaine, methamphetamine and methadone. Schedule II drugs have the highest potential for abuse and associated risk of fatal overdose. Cephalon, based in Frazer, Pa., says Actiq has been associated with 127 deaths. Two of them involved children who confused the drug for candy. Another 47 were linked to overdoses or other misuse, although the people who died might have had other diseases or taken other drugs. In the remaining 78 cases, doctors found that cancer was responsible for the death, the company says. Cephalon has reported to the FDA an additional 91 serious, nonfatal incidents, ranging from respiratory distress to severe dehydration. The U.S. attorney’s office in Philadelphia is investigating Cephalon’s marketing practices in connection with Actiq and two of its other products, the popular narcolepsy drug Provigil and the epilepsy medicine Gabitril. No charges have been filed. Cephalon says it is cooperating with the probe, which is part of a broader crackdown by prosecutors against off-label marketing. In August, the Justice Department fined Schering-Plough Corp. $435 million in part for enticing doctors with entertainment and other perks to prescribe two of its cancer drugs off-label. Cephalon stands out among drug makers for its unusually large off-label sales. Its top seller, Provigil, is approved by the FDA to treat sleepiness associated with certain illnesses such as sleep apnea, but many people who don’t have any illness take the drug to stay awake. Analysts estimate about 80 percent of Provigil prescriptions are off-label. Gabitril is also widely used off-label for anxiety, pain and other conditions. Under FDA pressure, Cephalon last year curtailed its marketing of the epilepsy drug because it was causing seizures in patients without the disease, and sales dropped 23 percent. Founded in 1987 by a former DuPont Co. scientist named Frank Baldino Jr., Cephalon expects revenue to exceed $1.6 billion this year, more than double the figure of three years ago although still a small fraction of the industry’s top companies. Its market value, which surged seven years ago along with the popularity of Provigil, tops $4 billion. Dr. Baldino earned $2.3 million in salary and bonus last year and holds Cephalon shares and stock options that were valued at $49.6 million as of the end of last year. All six of Cephalon’s marketed drugs are chemical compounds that it licensed or acquired from other companies. Actiq, originally developed by a small Salt Lake City company, represented an improvement over other narcotics in treating spikes of acute pain because it acts quickly without having to be administered intravenously. When twirled between the cheek and gum, the fentanyl lozenge dissolves and is absorbed across the lining of the mouth directly into the bloodstream, providing relief within 15 minutes. Actiq had sales of $15 million in 2000, when Cephalon acquired it. By last year, sales had grown to $412 million, making it Cephalon’s No. 2 drug. In the first nine months of this year, sales jumped to $471 million. Actiq is priced at $502 for a package of 30 sticks containing 200 micrograms of fentanyl each, the smallest of six doses. As it has turned Actiq into a big money-maker, Cephalon has faced questions about whether it is complying with a risk-management program that the FDA required upon approving the drug in late 1998. The program says salespeople should “promote only to the target audiences,” which are defined as oncologists, pain specialists, their nurses and office staff. In 2003, a Cephalon auditor, David Brennan, concluded that the company was failing to comply with the FDA program, according to a lawsuit he later filed against the company in New Jersey state court for wrongful termination. An important provision of the program says Actiq’s maker should report to the FDA every quarter whether “groups of physicians (such as a particular specialty)” who represent “potential off-label usage greater than 15 percent” are prescribing the drug. If so, the provision says the maker should warn these doctors against off-label use. Mr. Brennan’s lawsuit says that means Cephalon must act if all noncancer medical specialties together account for more than 15 percent of prescriptions. Cephalon interprets the provision differently. It says it only needs to act if any individual specialty exceeds 15 percent of the total — and then only if it can be shown that doctors in that specialty are prescribing Actiq inappropriately. Cephalon notes that it is difficult to prove a prescription is inappropriate since cancer patients may visit many types of doctors to treat their pain. It believes the 15 percent clause has yet to be triggered. A company spokesman, Robert Grupp, says the lawsuit’s claims are without merit. The FDA declined to comment. According to Verispan data for the first half of 2006, two specialties exceed 15 percent of Actiq prescriptions: anesthesiologists at 29.5 percent and physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists at 16 percent. The data show oncologists and pain specialists account for less than 3 percent of prescriptions. Cephalon doesn’t dispute the data. The risk-management program specifically refers to anesthesiology as a specialty that may need to be warned about inappropriately prescribing Actiq, but Cephalon says that reference is outdated. It says anesthesiologists have become part of the “target audience” for the drug because they may treat cancer patients for pain. Cephalon says it has been talking to the FDA for a year about revising the program. After Mr. Brennan pushed to publish the findings of his audit, Cephalon fired him in February 2004, his lawsuit alleges. Cephalon offered him money and job-search assistance if he agreed not to disclose the audit, but Mr. Brennan refused, the suit says. Mr. Grupp declined to discuss Mr. Brennan’s dismissal but noted that he is “a former disgruntled employee.” Mr. Brennan has been interviewed twice by investigators working for the U.S. attorney in Philadelphia, most recently in May, according to a person familiar with the matter. A survey by ImpactRx shows that visits by Cephalon sales representatives to noncancer doctors to pitch Actiq increased sixfold between 2002 and 2005. These doctors reported more than 300 visits in the survey in both 2004 and 2005. Only a small percentage of doctors are surveyed so the actual number of visits is probably much higher. Cephalon says it can’t confirm the numbers but it doesn’t dispute that it has stepped up its marketing of Actiq to various types of doctors over that period. Stephen Leighton, a general practitioner in Winston-Salem, N.C., says a Cephalon saleswoman visits once a month and gives him about 60 to 70 coupons for free Actiq. Patients can trade each coupon for six Actiq sticks. Dr. Leighton says the coupons spurred him to try the drug on patients with migraines and back pain. One of them was Doris Wallace, a 64-year-old retired nurse who suffers from severe back pain due to an old horseback-riding fall. Ms. Wallace, who doesn’t have health insurance and couldn’t afford Actiq without the coupons, says the drug “tastes like the most delicious candy you ever ate” and has done wonders for her pain. At the height of her use, she was consuming 24 Actiq sticks a month. The positive experience of patients like Ms. Wallace has led Dr. Leighton to prescribe Actiq more widely for different types of pain. Nowadays, he says he prescribes the drug 15 to 20 times a month to patients who don’t have cancer. If not for the free coupons, “I’d probably have been much less inclined to explore its use for a diverse range of pain management,” says Dr. Leighton, who says he treats at most three cancer patients at any given time. Dr. Leighton says he thinks the FDA-approved usage of Actiq is too narrow. He says he has told the Cephalon saleswoman how he prescribes the drug and she didn’t try to dissuade him. Mr. Grupp of Cephalon says Dr. Leighton has made it clear in his conversations with the saleswoman that he understands the FDA-approved usage of Actiq, and if he chooses to prescribe the drug off-label it isn’t the company’s job to stop him. Mr. Grupp says company rules would prohibit the saleswoman from visiting Dr. Leighton only if he never prescribed the drug for cancer pain. “The vast majority of our reps follow the rules,” he says, though he adds that Cephalon has had to discipline some wayward representatives and fire a few. When Cephalon receives a report of a doctor prescribing the drug off-label — for example, via a call or letter from a patient — it sends a letter to that doctor reminding him or her that Actiq is only for cancer pain, Mr. Grupp says. The company has sent more than 3,300 such letters, he says. Earlier this year, Dr. Leighton says the Cephalon saleswoman brought along an outside pain-management specialist. Over lunch, Dr. Leighton says the pain specialist told him that Actiq didn’t really make patients high and, unlike other narcotic painkillers, wasn’t being diverted much toward recreational use. Cephalon declined to comment on the conversation. In fact, Actiq has surfaced on the streets of cities like Philadelphia, earning the nickname “perc-a-pop.” Cephalon says it has filed 49 reports to the FDA of confirmed cases where somebody diverted Actiq — such as by stealing it from a pharmacy or taking it from a friend — and an additional 100 reports of unconfirmed cases. Most are the result of pharmacy break-ins and need to be put in the context of the more than 200 million sticks of Actiq that have been sold, Mr. Grupp says. Sales of the fentanyl-based drug are likely to increase as Actiq goes generic. In late September, Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. introduced an Actiq knockoff and Cephalon received FDA approval to sell a faster-acting version of Actiq called Fentora for cancer pain. Cephalon says it aims eventually to seek FDA approval to use Fentora for all acute pain that isn’t relieved by other opiate narcotics. Mrs. Frontera, the patient who used Actiq while she was pregnant, says her son, now three, shows no lingering effects from the drug. Mrs. Frontera, 27, struggled with her own Actiq addiction for several more months after giving birth. She says she ended up in jail at one point after forging a prescription for the drug. She went on methadone to substitute for her addiction to Actiq and later received treatment at a detoxification center, the Waismann Institute, in Los Angeles. Now she lives in San Luis Obispo, Calif. “It makes me angry that it was prescribed to me,” she says of Actiq. “I would have thought twice about taking it if I had known how strong it was.” Philip Delio, the neurologist who prescribed Actiq to Mrs. Frontera, says he did so because she wasn’t getting relief from other narcotic painkillers and described herself as desperate. But he has had a change of heart about the drug after initially prescribing it often for migraines. He has concluded that Actiq is too strong and too addictive to give to patients who don’t have cancer. Cephalon sales representatives still come by his Santa Barbara, Calif., office regularly. But Dr. Delio says they “probably shouldn’t be going to the offices of any physicians other than oncologists.” Sphere: Related Content Cheap Generic Viagra
ZAMBIA: Bibles and condoms
Posted on September 05, 2008 in Generic biologicals
IRIN/PlusNews September 13, 2007 \"It is imperative this Zambia's hotels, lodges along with guest houses advertise at least two Bibles inserted each of their rooms, but it is particular to breeze in beyond condoms or alike condom-vending machineries, despite tens of these establishments lad used bygone notification sex workers besides their suckers. ... \"Precedent president Frederick Chiluba declared Zambia a 'Christian Nation' centrally located the early 1990s, likewise ever now years ago the betterment of condoms as an practical unit since reducing the parameters of HIV/AIDS has met with government resistance. ... \"'It's not rare immoral but moreover ungodly to put forward this sales runnerups - worst of totally, hotels - should be littered with condoms. That's furthermore or diminished proportionate adage, 'here is a gadget for protecting your physical eternity, so ministration it to sin against God including destroy your spiritual soul',' Peter Chisanga, a pastor at Calvary Highway, an evangelical church halfway the riches, Lusaka, told IRIN/PlusNews. \"'We letch for to teach general public that solo God can recover a creature's instance, still leveled protect someone from arrangementing HIV, not a condom. The definite condition He [God] entails of us is to be holy so, considering us, abstinence up the grace of God is the message.' \"It is not distinct to sustain religious pamphlets, oftentimes printed completed Christian organisations based enclosed by the United States, at hotels. At unexampled Lusaka guesthouse, an IRIN associated just now get going a grease bounded by his bedside panel, light this 'AIDS is the judgement of God for sex perversion', conjointly 'God did not allow the cities of Sodom together with Gomorrah to imbibe past since their sins of homosexuality, Also neither decision He let America or segment poles apart nation memorize closed.'\" Cheap Generic Viagra
HBV or HCV coinfection produced higher risk from treatment interruptions: drug holidays and hepatitis don't mix
Posted on September 03, 2008 in Generic biologicals
HIV Acceptance Thesaurus August-September 2007 Continuing rein of the SMART tuition, which arrived unexpectedly bad brass tacks from a the numbers of CD4-guided regime interruptions.
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The growth hormone releasing factor analogue tesamorelin (TH9507) reduces visceral fat, but what else does it do?
Posted on September 03, 2008 in Generic biologicals
HIV Form Vocabulary August-September 2007 Update forth channels of betterment hormone releasing part, being named , which recreates the pituitary to departure amelioration hormone, through treating HIV-associated visceral huge nest egg. Tesamorelin punch ins to be safer than injected augmentation hormone itself. To boot sense recent Click blazon from Thertechnologies, the Canadian soldiers developing tesamorelin, Theratechnologies Peruses from the FDA this its Tesamorelin Clinical Program is In process betwixt the Correct Van
Tags: tesamorelin, hormone, hiv, visceral, releasing