"FDA panel is mixed on Amgen bone drug" by Matthew Perrone, Associated Press | August 14, 2009
WASHINGTON - The mixed endorsement puts the full scope of denosumab’s market opportunity in question, though analysts still expect it to achieve blockbuster sales between $1 billion and $2 billion. Denosumab is considered critical to Amgen’s future growth, as sales of its top-selling anemia drugs have fallen on FDA-imposed safety restrictions....
Global sales of osteoporosis treatments reached $8.4 billion last year....
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Yeah, POISONING our old ladies for PROFIT is how we LOVE OUR WOMEN here.
I guess that's better than have missiles flung into your home and bombs dropped on your head.
The Healthy and Hearty Voice of the Healthcare Lobbyists
And they TRULY ARE WORRIED about YOU TAKING YOUR PILLS (cha-ching):
"Study urges action to get patients to follow prescriptions" by Elizabeth Cooney, Globe Correspondent | August 14, 2009
Here is why we DON'T LIKE their drugs:
.... The reasons include cost, unpleasant side effects, confusion about the regimen, forgetfulness, language barriers, and feeling too good to need medicine....
I always fill the prescription, take a couple if needed, and then the stuff sits in the medicine cabinet.
The report updates a 2001 analysis of the costs of poor patient medication adherence. It is based on seven systematic reviews of medical literature, as well as interviews with 16 health care organizations, insurers, drug makers, and technology companies. The work was paid for by this group of stakeholders, but the report was written independently, Fleishman said....
Yeah, I guess that would be a worry now.
There has been little rigorous research on how to get more patients to take medications as instructed, but studies have pointed to some promising approaches, the report says. Simplifying drug regimens, which could mean prescribing pills to take once a day instead of four times a day, could help, particularly when patients are on multiple medications. Doing more to educate patients about their disease and their medications, especially as they leave the hospital, also appears to work.
Related: Marijuana Makes MSM Monitor Mad
Case managers and pharmacists can also play a role, some studies say. Lowering costs also can improve adherence. The health care institute recommends some systemwide changes, such as revamping how health care providers are paid. Rather than reimbursing doctors based on the number of patients they see, they could instead be paid based on how well their patients are doing, the report says....
Oh, like in ENGLAND?
Dr. Jerry Gurwitz, a University of Massachusetts Medical School geriatrician, said keeping patients on medications they need is a pressing problem, especially among older people who live alone and might suffer from cognitive impairment....
What kind of nation abandons its old people?
Or pumps them full of pills for profit?
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Also see: Prescribing Our Kids to Death
Oh, that kind.
Yeah, go get that flu shot.
