Word: halcion
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Even to a nation grown accustomed to multibillion-dollar business frauds, the allegations are shocking. A Scottish psychiatrist has charged Upjohn of Kalamazoo, Mich., with falsifying scientific evidence regarding the safety of the sleeping pill Halcion (annual worldwide sales: $240 million). The accusation has prompted a federal investigation. Dow Corning Wright of Arlington, Tenn., stands accused of failing to report that its silicone-gel breast implants were associated with severe side effects -- including the development of autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. That product and similar implants made by other manufacturers have been placed in 1 million...
...critical social contract between manufacturers, regulators and the public seems to be unraveling. "I just don't trust the drug companies as much as I once did," says New York City real estate agent Peggy Mathews. "Halcion and silicone implants stand out like beacons, putting us all on the alert." She has reason to worry, says Dr. Sidney Wolfe, a consumer activist who heads Public Citizen's Health Research Group. "The heart of the problem is the dangerous amount of control the industry has over testing. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands injured because data have been falsified...
...company's internal records if a problem is suspected. Congress woke up to the problem last fall, at Kessler's prodding, and introduced a bill that would have enabled the ( agency to seize corporate documents. The threat of a presidential veto halted the measure, though the new revelations about Halcion and breast implants seem likely to revive the initiative...
Upjohn is meanwhile reassuring physicians that reported problems with Halcion occur only at high doses and if the drug is taken for long periods of time. At the FDA's request, Upjohn revised the drug's package insert to warn patients not to extend its use beyond 10 days without consulting their physician. Last week the firm filed a libel suit against its Scottish accuser, Dr. Ian Oswald, and the British Broadcasting Corporation for televising allegations of fraud. Upjohn is also actively appealing the British Department of Health's decision last fall to ban Halcion...
...CAPTION: HALCION...