Word: drugging
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...Younger and prettier - or at least better coiffed than anybody taking actual care of the sick - drug reps are a feature of medical life that few outsiders see. Known as "detail" people or (behind closed doors) "pharma babes," they are basically salespeople. They generally work on commission. Despite all the patient information confidentiality laws, they somehow find out which doctors write how many prescriptions for what...
...record, most docs will say reps are just a minor distraction, that as professionals "we do our learning the old-fashioned way." The cheap pens and pads adorned with logos and drug names, and the occasional steak-house dinners are supposed to mean nothing to us. But 10 minutes of rapt attention from a smiling beauty is still 10 more minutes than usual. So what if she's talking about nausea, vomiting and diarrhea - we talk about that stuff too. Every doc I know thinks he or she is above truly being influenced by drug reps. Professing ourselves wise, though...
...Unlike doctors, drug companies are truly and primarily businesses. They invest billions and come up with many great, new products which cannot be sold, whatsoever, without convincing doctors to prescribe them. Billion-dollar businesses will influence lawmaking in every kind of governmental system. Reps move product, making money for the companies and their millions of stockholders. Powerful people will make sure that process is allowed to continue...
...Food and Drug Administration on Thursday released a preliminary report on the safety of meat and milk from cloned animals. Their verdict: that these food products are no different from those derived from conventionally bred animals, and are therefore safe to eat. But don't expect your local butcher to be selling hams or rib eyes from cloned animals any time soon. The FDA's report is now available to the public and open for a 90-day comment period. Only after this time will the agency make a final decision on the safety of food products made from cloned...
...convene a panel of 14 doctors, scientists, pharmaceutical industry researchers and patient advocates to come up with ways to spur innovation. They recommended more collaboration among government, industry and academia. Colleges, for example, could offer more scholarships to train translational researchers. The government could offer more incentives for innovative drug research. Patents for breakthrough drugs could be extended from the current 20 years to 25-30 years, while patents for "me too" drugs could be shortened to 10 years. Otherwise the billions for research will end up producing bigger profits, but not necessarily better medications...