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Pharmaceutical company admits to lying about the health risks of its
drugs
A major prescription drug company in the United States has admitted
to making misleading claims about the safety of its products. The company
failed to include important information about hypoglycemia and diabetes,
and promoted its drug as being safer than other anti-psychotic drugs.
The FDA has issued a warning letter to the company, telling them to comply
by including the information regarding hypoglycemia and diabetes, and
by avoiding making such unproven claims. This is for a drug that is prescribed
to over 10 million people around the world, and generates $2,000,000
in annual sales for this prescription drug company.
What's interesting about this case is that it's just the tip of the
iceberg. We see a lot of corruption in the drug industry, and a lot of
questionable tactics they use to sell more drugs. Some pharmaceutical
companies have been caught burying the results of negative clinical trials;
other have been caught distorting clinical trials, and yet more companies
have been caught outright bribing physicians in order to get them to
prescribe more prescription drugs to patients. So, in comparison, this
violation of omitting health safety information about hypoglycemia and
diabetes seems relatively minor. But, when you add it all up, it paints
a fairly clear picture of an industry that is extremely corrupt, and
will do practically anything to generate more profits, including compromising
the health of the public.
The FDA, for its part, typically ignores safety concerns of pharmaceutical
companies, and seems to work to actually protect the pharmaceutical industry
rather than protecting the public health. But, in this case, the FDA
seems to be doing the right thing by demanding that this pharmaceutical
company avoid engaging in this misleading activity.
Now, another thing that's interesting here is that if a misleading health
claim were made on the product label of a natural product, such as a
nutritional supplement, the FDA would typically raid the company's warehouse
and confiscate the products, wiping out that company's inventory. However,
when a pharmaceutical, such as this schizophrenia drug, is being manufactured
and marketed with misleading claims, that company only receives a warning
letter from the FDA. Their inventory is not confiscated, their company
headquarters is not raided by FDA agents, and the company is generally
allowed to continue doing business.
This is an interesting contrast in the way the FDA treats natural products
versus prescription drugs. In the case of natural products, herbs, or
nutritional supplements, the FDA seems determined to use its maximum
enforcement powers to pressure those companies, and if possible, harm
them financially. But when it comes to the prescription drug industry,
the FDA seems to be fine with sending warning letters and letting the
company decide on its own when or if it wishes to comply. |
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