pharmaceutical companies news stories on Newser

US to Big Pharma: Disclose What You Pay Docs

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:26:34 CST

Studies have found that when doctors accept payments from drug companies, it can influence their treatment decisions—so the Obama administration will soon require drug companies to disclose those payments. The New York Times reports that around 25% of doctors receive cash from drug companies for consulting, speaking engagements, and...

Woman Found Dead at Historic CA Mansion

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:22:57 CDT

The girlfriend of a pharmaceutical company executive was found dead at a historic California mansion, her nude body hanging from a rope on a second-floor balcony with her hands tied behind her back and her feet bound. Rebecca Nalepa's body was discovered at the Coronado home of Jonah Shacknai, founder,...

Global Patent Pool Scores 4 New AIDS Drugs

Kevin Spak — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 10:59:05 CDT

Gilead Sciences announced today that it will license four AIDS and hepatitis B drugs to an international patent pool, allowing cheap, generic versions to be produced for sale in low-income countries. The AIDS drugs, which include tenofovir and emtricitabine, represent a major upgrade on the treatments currently available in those...

FDA Takes Over 3 Tylenol Plants

Matt Cantor — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 06:31:49 CST

After multiple drug recalls and an FDA safety probe, federal authorities are taking control of three Tylenol plants, CNNMoney reports. The plants, run by Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil division, are in trouble for dodging federal manufacturing rules; now, the company has agreed to let the FDA supervise the three—two...

US Prescription Drugs Tested on World's Poor

Rob Quinn — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 18:02:05 CST

Prescription drugs that are considered safe kill an estimated 200,000 Americans a year, and investigative reporters Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele have exposed a massive loophole that could help explain why. Some 6,485 clinical trials were conducted abroad in 2008—more than 20 times as many...

Disgraced Doctors Land at Big Pharma

Kevin Spak — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 07:59:20 CDT

Pharmaceutical companies say they hire highly respected doctors as their white-coat sales force, peddling their drugs to other physicians. But a Pro Publica investigation has discovered that hundreds of these pitchmen have been accused of professional misconduct, been disciplined by state boards, or lacked credentials. Medical board records in the...

When Clinical Trials Kill

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:36:15 CDT

Dan Markingson was a happy, smart 26-year-old from Minnesota, until the day his mother visited him in Los Angeles and found him delusional, even murderous. He was hospitalized in November 2003 and would have been involuntarily committed—but he was granted a stay, on the condition that he comply with...

Avandia Woes Mount Ahead of FDA Hearing

Nick McMaster — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:55:00 CDT

As the FDA prepares to consider whether to ban Avandia, agency scientists have discovered another problem with the diabetes drug: flaws that disqualify a clinical study sponsored by its maker. The trial, organized by GlaxoSmithKline, sought to evaluate the relative heart risks of Avandia and two other diabetes drugs, but...

FDA Considers 'Pink Viagra' to Boost Female Libido

Jane Yager — Mon, 24 May 2010 05:37:35 CDT

Does "pink Viagra" offer much-needed relief to women suffering from low sex drive or is it just a money-making scheme cooked up by the pharmaceutical industry? That's the question the FDA will face next month when it considers whether or not to approve flibanserin, a new drug that—despite its...