sábado, noviembre 06, 2004

Drug Industry Under the Microscope

"Americans spend $200 billion each year on prescription drugs. But those billions aren't necessarily buying better drugs, says Marcia Angell, former editor-in-chief of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Pharmaceutical marketing and administration costs far outstrip those of research and development, Angell says. And rather than coming out with innovative, new drugs, companies are more interested in developing "knockoff" versions of popular prescriptions that line the pockets of executives and leave consumers coming up short.
The influence that the drug industry has in Washington, and even in your doctor's office, is enormous. But Angell thinks there is still a way to save the pharmaceutical industry, and help it to regain its mission".
On point es una radio pública de Boston que recoge debates y noticias de importancia de actualidad, como la que hemos reseñado.
Si lo deseáis, podéis escuchar la grabación del pasado 16 de septiembre en la que asistían como invitados:
·Marcia Angell, former editor-in-chief, The New England Journal of Medicine and senior lecturer, Harvard Medical School. She is author of the new book, "The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It."
·Lori Reilly, deputy vice president for policy and research, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
·Peter Rost, vice president of marketing for endocrine care, Pfizer.

Podéis leer una entrevista en el NYT a Marcia, del pasado 14 de septiembre, una respuesta al libro de Marcia por parte del PhRMA, y mira por dónde, un comentario al libro, en amazon.com, del amigo Peter Rost. Podéis leer todos los comentarios al libro.

Hay muchos blogs que en los últimos tiempos dedican su atención al "Big Pharma", dada la situación actual de la sanidad en EEUU, y la presión del lobby farmacéutico.