OT: More Drug Company Spin ** Sorta Interesting

January 23, 2003

[HEALTHE] More drug company spin

Wed, 22 Jan 2003 08:16:23 -0800

Andrew Gach <unclewolf

Health and Environment Resource Center

<HEALTHE

HEALTHE

Drug companies like to justify their research methods and the high price

of their products with the claim that they save human lives. In reality,

many and perhaps most new drugs are solely created to replace older

medications that are no longer covered under patent protection. As

unbiased research often reveals, these " me too " drugs are not only more

expensive, but also less effective and more dangerous. [andy]

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BMJ 2003;326:120 ( 18 January )

Company launches campaign to " counter " BMJ claims

Ray Moynihan, Washington, DC

A public relations company with clients in the pharmaceutical and

biotechnology industry has launched a global campaign to " counter " a

recent BMJ article on " female sexual dysfunction " that detailed drug

company sponsorship of medical meetings where the condition was defined

(4 January, p 45).

London based HCC De Facto this week sent email messages to women's

health groups in Canada and Australia seeking volunteers to speak to the

press and help generate media coverage to counter the journal article.

HCC De Facto, which describes its brief as " full service PR and

communications, " is currently working on recruitment and publicity for

an unnamed pharmaceutical company running phase III trials of a " PDE5

inhibitor " for " female sexual dysfunction. "

Pfizer, Bayer, and Lilly-ICOS all make these Viagra type drugs, but it

is not known which companyif any of these three is working with HCC De

Fact.

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