Prescription Drug News and Research

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Is the FDA too influenced by big pharma?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) historically sound reputation could be in jeopardy due to it's possibly too close relationship with the major pharmaceutical companies.

12 Dec 2005

Depression treatment in children - poor data

When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared in 2004 that certain antidepressants are linked to an increased risk of suicide in adolescents, there was surprisingly little data about how depression was being treated in young patients.

28 Nov 2005

Warnings on popular asthma drug could damage drug giant

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is recommending new restrictions on the asthma drug Advair.

21 Nov 2005

The Medicare Drug Benefit: A Prescription for Confusion

If many seniors are scratching their heads about the new Medicare prescription drug plan, so are the experts.

20 Nov 2005

Use of traction to help treat low back pain has no benefit

"Traction was introduced before it was properly evaluated in high-quality randomized trials, and as an intervention is already part of usual practice,” said lead author Judy M.A. Clarke, M.D. “It is hard to convince health care providers not to use it."

10 Nov 2005

FDA wants digital labels on all drugs - might solve the problem of very small print

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requesting drug manufacturers submit electronic versions of their drug labels in order that a database can be established for doctors and patients to search for recent warnings or any other changes.

3 Nov 2005

Drug company proposes FDA check all drug advertising prior to marketing

Drug company AstraZeneca has proposed that it should be a mandatory requirement for pharmaceutical companies to submit all direct-to-consumer advertising to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for review prior to its use.

2 Nov 2005

Roche seeking others to make Tamiflu bird flu drug

According to Swiss drug maker Roche, the maker of the sort-after bird flu drug Tamiflu, it is seeking for outside producers for its drug, because of the skyrocketing demand amid concerns about a possible bird flu pandemic.

31 Oct 2005

Plant-derived compounds appear to block the activity of an enzyme that triggers inflammation in joints

The findings came to light while the researchers were studying the wildly different ways in which cells in human blood vessels and joints respond to pressure gradients generated from liquid moving along their surface, a force called shear stress.

3 Oct 2005

Governments considering reclassifying some drugs from prescription to over-the-counter status

Governments in several countries with public Pharmacare and in a few provinces in Canada are considering reclassifying some drugs from prescription to over-the-counter status. In a Canadian Medical Association Journal essay, Lynd and colleagues comment on the economic effects of such changes.

27 Sep 2005

Cost-cutting strategy employed by HMOs for 15 years is simply not working

With rising concern over the cost of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit program – going into effect January, 2006 and estimated to cost $593 billion over the next decade – a new UCSF study reveals that a key cost-cutting strategy employed by HMOs for 15 years is simply not working.

19 Sep 2005

Newly patented versions of old drugs are driving the rapid growth in expenditure on prescription drugs in most developed countries

The rising cost of using these "me-too" drugs at prices far exceeding those of time-tested competitors deserves careful scrutiny, say the authors, based at the University of British Columbia in Canada, where spending on drugs doubled between 1996 and 2003.

4 Sep 2005

Bush pushing seniors to sign up for prescription drug benefit program

Senior citizens skeptical about signing up for a new Medicare prescription drug benefit program, are being urged by President George Bush to enroll in the scheme which is promising a choice of plans with monthly premiums as low as $20.

30 Aug 2005

New study shows even non-prescription painkillers raise blood pressure in women

According to a new U.S. study women who take higher doses of common, over-the-counter painkillers, such as Ibuprofen and even Tylenol, have higher blood pressure than women who do not.

16 Aug 2005

FDA places very tight restrictions on acne drug Accutane

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said late last week, that in future, patients and doctors will have to register with manufacturers and promise to comply with tight restrictions, before using the acne drug Accutane and it's generic versions.

14 Aug 2005

Seniors in U.S. can relax as official says Medicare drug benefit scheme will cost less

Federal officials have said that Medicare's controversial new drug benefit for seniors, may in fact cost less than first projected, because of the very competitive bids from insurers and other providers.

10 Aug 2005

Quality of the doctor-patient relationship can greatly affect patients' medication use

Patients who trust their doctors are more likely to stick to their prescription medicines, even if they face high out-of-pocket costs, a new study finds. But patients who have lower levels of trust in their physicians, or who have depression-like symptoms, are much more likely to skip doses or refills when costs become a problem for them.

10 Aug 2005

Medicare at 40: Past Accomplishments and Future Challenges

As Americans commemorate Medicare's 40th Anniversary, AARP's Public Policy Institute (PPI) has released the report, "Medicare at 40," which examines the program's successes as well as the challenges that lie ahead. It found that Medicare has largely accomplished its original goals of ensuring access to care and establishing financial protections for medical costs.

2 Aug 2005

Discount injectables bought offshore not worth the price

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) has announced that patients need to be wary of “bargain” injectables or other treatments that are not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Unregulated injectables or treatments can compromise patient health and put patient lives at risk.

19 Jul 2005

Better tracking system needed to check the safety of new medical devices

A recently released report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) says that a better system is needed by U.S. health officials for tracking the safety of medical devices after they are approved for sale, especially ones used to treat children.

19 Jul 2005