Saturday, July 22, 2006
Millions In Life-Saving Drugs Being Dumped
With the cost of prescription drugs skyrocketing, some can't even
afford to get the medicine they need to live. But a 5 On Your side investigation has found that millions of dollars
in expensive drugs, enough drugs to fill a warehouse, are simply being
wasted. Investigator Ron Regan reported that the sheer volume of wasted drugs
is stunning, and they could go a long way to ease the pain and
suffering of more than 1 million patients in Ohio who have no medical
insurance. Some cancer drugs can cost as much as $10,000 a month, but the
investigation found millions of dollars of perfectly usable
medications all over Ohio are never reaching the people who need them
most. NewsChannel5 checked with the Ohio Pharmacy Board, the state agency
that regulates how drugs are stored and dispensed, and found out how
millions of expensive drugs are going to waste. Expensive, life-saving medicine that's never been opened, drugs that
ease pain, treat cancer and fight heart disease, is never reaching the
sick and dying. And that's not all. Many more are simply tossed in the furnace,
incinerated by licensed disposal companies. The medicine is still in tamper-proof packages, with expiration dates
that are years away. But here's the worst part. The investigation found an Ohio law that
could save millions of lives is simply being ignored. "It's hurting the community, the American people who need this
medication to survive," said patient Joanne Brunner. Despite a law that's been on the books for three years, there's only
one spot in the entire state of Ohio that's benefiting. At the Western Stark Clinic, donated drugs are saving lives like Brunner's. "The doctors told me you need this medication and you must take it
every day," said Brunner. "It's unconscionable that in this day and age we're destroying
medications when we have people who are forced to go without
medication," said clinic director Diane Daniels. Instead, nearby Absolute Pharmacy donates drugs that are leftover or
no longer needed from nursing homes it serves. "We're looking at donating approximately 4,000 prescriptions per
month," said Absolute Pharmacy founder Tim Tannert. So why is the law being ignored by others, such as one huge company
near Cincinnati? Omnicare is the nation's largest provider of pharmaceuticals to
nursing homes, but it refused to donate a single pill to the poor and
dying. Instead, the medicine is destroyed. NewsChannel5 wanted the ask them
why, but the company only provided the following statement: "Omnicare supports the concept and the program's goals, but the
particular legislation does not offer relief from serious liability
issues." State Sen. Kirk Schuring said that's not true: those donating drugs
are protected from lawsuits. "It's a tragedy to think that when we have so many folks, that we're
depriving them of the opportunity and actually destroying these
drugs," said Schuring. For an idea of how much could be save, more than $3 million worth of
medication is being donated to the Stark Clinic alone, and that's by
just one pharmaceutical company. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Friday, July 21, 2006
Beware of herbal medicines say authorities
Acting director-general of health, Debbie Chin, says people may be
putting their health at risk by taking so-called herbal products which
actually contain undeclared prescription medicines. Seven different products imported from Asia, being sold as herbal
medicines, have tested positive for erectile dysfunction and weight
loss prescription medicines following routine investigations Medsafe.
"There is a real potential for harm to occur when prescription
medicines are used by consumers without a prescription, because of the
absence of any medical supervision," Mrs Chin says. "If people are in doubt about the contents of any herbal product they
are taking for a health condition they should seek advice from their
health professional." Medsafe investigators located the seven products imported from Asia
through a routine investigation of retail outlets. Some products
containing sildenafil were being advertised as natural or herbal
Viagra. Products were often being sold "under-the-counter" on request
and some were being supplied unlabelled in plastic bags. Medsafe investigations are continuing and prosecution cases are being
considered in relation to the alleged distributors. All known stocks
of these herbal products have been seized. Breaches of the medicines laws are taken very seriously, especially
where patient and consumer safety is put at risk. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Preventing Prescription Drug Errors
The wrong medicine could do more harm than good. A statistic from the
Institute of Medicine shows that may happen more often than you may
think. Now a national organization and a local hospital are trying to
prevent medication errors. There are more than 10,000 prescription drugs on the market and more
than 300,000 over the counter medications. So, choosing the right one,
at times, can be tricky. Vanderbilt's Dr Kevin Johnson says each year, around 1.5 million
people are harmed by medication errors. That's why he and several
other doctors spent six years working with the Institute of Medicine
studying the problem, and they came up with several recommendations,
starting with how prescription drugs are prescribed. Doctor Johnson said new technology, some of which was developed at
Vanderbilt, provides a new system of safety checks when a doctor is
prescribing medicine to a patient. Electronic prescription generators eliminate confusion that can be
caused by illegible handwriting. But one of the main reasons for
confusion is some drugs look alike and some of the drug names sound
alike. That's why the institute recommends that the FDA does more to prevent
that from happening. The study also advises patients to be educated
consumers when buying over the counter drugs and when taking drugs
that a doctor has prescribed. So, if you don't understand something, ask questions. Doctors say
communication is they key to making the right decision. The Institute of Medicine is asking the government to pass a law
requiring that all prescriptions be electronically generated by the
year 2010. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Prescription Pain and Other Medications
Prescription medications such as pain relievers, tranquilizers,
stimulants, and sedatives are very useful treatment tools, but
sometimes people do not take them as directed and may become addicted.
Pain relievers make surgery possible, and enable many individuals with
chronic pain to lead productive lives. Most people who take
prescription medications use them responsibly. However, the
inappropriate or nonmedical use of prescription medications is a
serious public health concern. Nonmedical use of prescription
medications like opioids, central nervous system (CNS) depressants,
and stimulants can lead to addiction, characterized by compulsive drug
seeking and use. Patients, healthcare professionals, and pharmacists all have roles in
preventing misuse and addiction to prescription medications. For
example, when a doctor prescribes a pain relief medication, CNS
depressant, or stimulant, the patient should follow the directions for
use carefully, learn what effects the medication could have, and
determine any potential interactions with other medications. The
patient should read all information provided by the pharmacist.
Physicians and other healthcare providers should screen for any type
of substance abuse during routine history-taking, with questions about
which prescriptions and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines the patient
is taking and why. Providers should note any rapid increases in the
amount of a medication needed or frequent requests for refills before
the quantity prescribed should have been used, as these may be
indicators of abuse. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Prescription plan money goes to those who don't need it
My Mom, Sheila, has asked me to thank each of you for the extremely
generous and completely unnecessary gift of free high-end
pharmaceuticals. Mom, a 79-year-old confined to a wheelchair and afflicted with a
number of chronic illnesses, resides in a nursing home in rural
Oregon. She uses an average of 17 different prescription drugs each
month. In 2005 these cost her, uh, well, let's just say roughly the same
amount as a pretty good car. But this year, thanks to your largesse, Mom will save several thousand
dollars. She signed up for Medicare Part D and bought an Aetna
insurance policy that covers most of what she needs. The premiums are
low, the coverage excellent and her savings staggering. You made this
possible. Essentially, your tax dollars have been transferred to my Mom, even
though you may have a lower income than her. I'm not saying my Mom is undeserving. She's a nice lady - mostly - if
you can overlook the fact that she voted Republican for 50 years and
occasionally snatches a piece of pie off another resident's lunch
tray. She's a decent and feisty citizen. She's always paid her own
way, and she can afford to continue to do so. It's hard to be old and sick, but it's worse to be old, sick and poor.
My fortunate Mom has the resources to pay for her own prescriptions. But now she doesn't have to, because Medicare Part D, like welfare, is
an entitlement. But unlike welfare, it is not means-tested. Even the
wealthiest can get lush benefits. There are trade-offs. The decision to buy drugs for my Mom means that we can't afford to buy
other things for other people. Instead of the benefits my Mom receives
from the federal government (which is, after all, every taxpayer), you
could pay for a significant quantity of medication for someone who
can't now afford it, or provide preventative health care services such
as childhood immunizatios or smoking cessation counseling for people
who need it. Now, Sheila's my Mom, so I want her to get every benefit she's
entitled to. But if she were the "decider" here, she'd choose to apply
those thousands of dollars in benefits to people who need them, not to
herself. She'd advocate a more thoughtful investment strategy for public health
care dollars. And she'd oppose a minor repairs approach that makes
marginal improvements without addressing the biggest issue: resource
allocation. If we were starting from scratch, figuring out what to do with the $80
billion we'll spend on Medicare Part D this year, not to mention the
nearly $1 trillion state and federal governments will spend on health
care programs in 2006, what would we choose to buy? Would federally subsidized prescription drugs for Sheila and others
like her who can afford to pay for their own be a high priority? Or would we prefer to invest in preventative health care for the
children of working poor families and basic insurance for those now
going bare? Like I said before, hey, thanks. It's a great gift. But you really
shouldn't have. I mean it. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Abuse of OxyContin on the rise
Doctors and pharmacists would be alerted when patients seek multiple
OxyContin prescriptions under a new proposal spurred by the growing
number of deaths, overdoses and crimes linked with abuse of the
narcotic and similar prescription drugs. The proposal, which could be implemented by the state Department
of Public Health this fall, was applauded by two local experts on
addiction who say it is too easy to score OxyContin. "The people who abuse these things often shop around for
physicians, prescribers, and go to different pharmacies and chains,
and the smaller (drug stores)...so their prescription history remains
vague," said Patrick Rice, a psychotherapist and substance abuse
specialist at MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham and Natick.
Waltham Police Lt. Richard Manning said the use of pharmaceutical
drugs has increased in the city in the last five years and is present
in schools and popular with the under-25 crowd. "We get tons of reports of it," he said. Manning, who heads the Middlesex Drug Task Force, said the city
has seen a decline in the use of designer drugs such as Ecstacy since
pharmaceutical drugs became popular. He said he could not comment on ongoing investigations. The prescription drug proposal, issued last week by a commission
created by the Legislature, could also help state officials detect the
next "Dr. Feel Good" -- a moniker applied to a Cape Cod doctor who
lost his license to practice medicine after issuing nearly one-third
of all OxyContin prescriptions written in Massachusetts in 2004. "The Board of Registration in Medicine had no idea that he had
such irregular patterns of prescribing and there was really no way for
them to find out," said state Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, the
OxyContin Commission chairman. The commission wants to upgrade the DPH's Prescription Monitoring
Program so it can find patients who receive prescriptions from
multiple doctors or pharmacies, Koutoujian said. The drugs targeted by
the commission are OxyContin, transdermal fentanyl, methadone,
morphine, Vicodin and Percocet. The DPH will have to decide whether doctors and pharmacists would
have direct access to the database or whether they would simply be
notified when irregular patterns are found, Koutoujian said. Better monitoring of drug prescribing patterns would allow the
Board of Registration to take swifter action against doctors who issue
questionable prescriptions, Koutoujian said. Opioid-related deaths in Massachusetts increased 600 percent
between 1990 and 2003, according to the commission report. In the 10
years ending in 2002, the state saw a 950 percent increase in the
number of people admitted into medical facilities for abusing
OxyContin and other non-heroin opiates. Many OxyContin addicts
eventually switch to heroin because it is much cheaper, Koutoujian
said. Budget cuts in recent years have reduced drug treatment programs
that help people beat their addictions. Sen. Richard Moore,
D-Uxbridge, said he expects the state to restore some of the lost
treatment funding. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Military Families Deserve Prescription Choice
The U.S. House and Senate are considering a bill that would force many
U.S. military families to fill most of their prescriptions through
mail order drug warehouses instead of at their local community
pharmacy. The TRICARE provisions of the Defense Authorization Act are
headed for a House-Senate conference after different versions of the
bill passed in each chamber. TRICARE is the name of the Department of
Defense (DOD) managed health care program for active duty military,
active duty service families, and military retirees and their
families, and covers more than 9.2 million persons worldwide. "Mandatory mail order will force our active duty military personnel,
retired military, and their families away from their trusted community
pharmacy, effectively denying them the important face-to-face patient
care that community pharmacists provide," said Bruce Roberts, RPh,
executive vice president and CEO of the National Community Pharmacists
Association (NCPA). "Especially at a time when so many of our military
personnel are deployed abroad, they and their families at home deserve
the best care possible. Patients overwhelmingly prefer to receive
their prescription medications from their local pharmacy and not be
forced to hope and wait for them to appear in their mailbox." The Senate version of the bill would require all TRICARE beneficiaries
to obtain refills of "maintenance medications" through the mail. The
Congressional Budget Office estimates that 65 percent of prescriptions
could be classified as maintenance medications. Other estimates put
the figure as high as 80 percent. NCPA is calling for the
congressional conferees to strike that section of the bill. The House version of the bill also penalizes patients who prefer to
fill their prescriptions locally, by increasing the copay for both
generic and brand drugs at a community pharmacy while eliminating the
copay entirely for prescriptions purchased by mail. Also, DOD currently negotiates with drug manufacturers for significant
discounts. However, brand manufacturers only offer DOD discounted
prices for prescription medications dispensed at military treatment
facilities and through the TRICARE mail order program. NCPA strongly
supports language in the Senate bill that would extend these discounts
to retail pharmacy. DOD would save approximately $773 million a year by expanding that
discount pricing to community pharmacy. That is $150 million a year
more than the estimated savings of forcing beneficiaries into mail
order. "We urge Congress to carefully consider the impact of these provisions
and to come down firmly on the side of active duty military, military
retirees, their families, and true, cost- saving choice in the
community," Roberts said. The National Community Pharmacists Association, founded in 1898,
represents the nation's community pharmacists, including the owners of
more than 24,000 pharmacies. The nation's independent pharmacies,
independent pharmacy franchises, and independent chains dispense
nearly half of the nation's retail prescription medicines. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Some prescriptions drugs about to get a lot cheaper
Consumers buying certain prescription drugs may soon find a big drop
in prices. That's because some expensive brand name drugs will soon
come off patent and be facing competition from generics. Four of the nation's 10 best-selling prescription medications.
including drugs such as Zocor to treat high cholesterol and Flonase
for allergies just to name a few, will lose their patent protection
this year.
Unlike hospitals or doctor care that is paid mostly by insurance,
patients pay a higher share of prescription drug costs out of their
own pockets. Generics can cost up to 80 percent less than their
branded versions. Medical experts say generic medications are just as effective as brand
name drugs. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Promising preclinical study for DNAPrint candidate
PT-502 uses the dopamine system in order to treat depression, a
mechanism of action which is different to traditional serotonin and
norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac. The compound is one of a series of Ritalin-like compounds developed by
Dr Mark Froimowitz, research professor of chemistry at the Boston
College, which the company licensed in October 2005. Ritalin is a well-known drug used for the treatment of attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These compounds have the
potential to be enhanced pharmaceuticals for the clinical treatment of
depression, drug addiction and ADHD. Dr Froimowitz noted that 30% or more of the patients treated with
available anti-depressants either do not respond to treatment or have
adverse side effects. "PT-502 is our new compound designed to selectively block the reuptake
of dopamine with a slow onset, and a longer duration of action. This
pharmacokinetic profile indicates that PT-502 should have little or no
abuse potential. This offers a new model for the treatment of
depression that affects nearly 20 million people a year in the US
alone," said Dr Froimowitz. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Monday, July 17, 2006
Save on Generic Drugs, Even in Medicare
The year 2006 maybe remembered as the year prescription drugs got a
whole lot cheaper for senior citizens. Not just because of the
Medicare prescription drug program but because of the flood of
lower-cost generic drugs coming on the market to replace high-priced
brand name drugs. "Never have so many branded drugs, with annual sales
of as much as $75 billion, lost their patents in so short a time,"
says the Los Angeles Times.
Generic drugs, including new anti-cholesterol and anti-depressants
drugs, could save U.S. consumers $24.7 billion this year alone,
according to a report in June by Express Scripts, one of the nation's
largest managers of pharmacy benefit plans. The biggest savings
available this year the company says are in the anti-cholesterol class
at $10.3 billion. For many older people, who are on the front line of the fight against
high cholesterol, the introduction of generics for the statin drugs
Zocor and Pravachol, is expecially good news. This just leaves two
brand-name stations standing – Lipitor and Crestor – that may see
their customers switching to the much-less-expensive generic statins. HealthPartners, the largest consumer-governed, non-profit health care
organization, projects that drug costs for treating high cholesterol
will decline by as much as $14 million annually with just the
introduction of the Zocor generic. According to the research firm, IMS Health, statins accounted for $16
billion in U.S. sales in 2005. Zocor was the second most widely
prescribed statin with sales in 2005 of $3.1 billion.
A generic drug is identical, or bioequivalent to a brand name drug in
dosage form, safety, strength, route of administration, quality,
performance characteristics and intended use," according to the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration. "Although generic drugs are chemically identical to their branded
counterparts, they are typically sold at substantial discounts from
the branded price. According to the Congressional Budget Office,
generic drugs save consumers an estimated $8 to $10 billion a year at
retail pharmacies. Even more billions are saved when hospitals use
generics," the FDA says. Several studies have also pointed out that the savings for senior
citizens on generic drugs in the Medicare prescription drug program
are gigantic. Seniors in the Medicare program stand potentially to save at least $23
billion dollars over the next five years as 14 major brand-name drugs
commonly used by seniors are expected to become available in generic
form, according to a report in April by the Pharmaceutical Care
Management Association. If PCMA's analysis were expanded beyond the
top 100 drugs used by seniors, the savings would be even greater. In 2007, seven drugs commonly used by seniors - Norvasc (heart
disease), Ambien (sleep disorder), Zyrtec (allergies), Lotrel (heart
disease), Coreg (hypertension), Lamisil (fungal infection), and Tequin
(antibiotic) -- are expected to go generic. PCMA estimates the
potential savings in 2007 alone at nearly $700 million and about $7
billion over the 2007-2010 period. There are still heated discussions in Washington on making changes to
the Medicare drug program, including allowing Medicare to negotiate
with the drug-makers for better drug prices. Senior citizens, however, can only look at that as just one more
gigantic reduction in the gigantic cost of drugs, because they are
already making big savings. KaiserNet.org reports below on the Times' story and more on generic
drug news - Generic Competition for Several Best-Selling Brand-Name Drugs Could
Result in Billions of Dollars in Savings for Consumers Four of the 10 "best-selling" brand-name prescription drugs will lose
patent protection this year through 2010, and the competition from
generic versions of the medications could result in billions of
dollars in savings for consumers, the Los Angeles Times reports. The anticholesterol medication Zocor, manufactured by Merck, and the
antidepressant Zoloft, manufactured by Pfizer, lost patent protection
last month. In addition, the hypertension medication Norvasc, manufactured by
Pfizer, will lose patent protection next year, and the asthma
treatment Advair, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, will lose patent
protection in 2008. According to the Times, "Never have so many branded drugs, with annual
sales of as much as $75 billion, lost their patents in so short a
time," and the "savings for consumers could be enormous." Generic medications, which can cost as much as 80% less than the
brand-name versions, currently account for about half of prescription
drugs sold, compared with about one-fourth in 1986. Ron Fontanetta, a
health care specialist at Towers Perrin, said that generic medications
could account for more than 60% of the prescription drug market by the
end of next year. According to pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts, generic
medications will result in estimated savings of $24.7 billion this
year. The amount of savings that individual consumers will receive
depends on "how aggressively health plan and other care providers
steer patients to generics," the Times reports. 'Authorized Generics'
In response to increased competition from generic medications,
brand-name pharmaceutical companies have begun to manufacture or
license "authorized generics," which "are essentially the brand drug
in a different bottle," the Times reports. According to the Times, consumer advocates maintain that the sale of
authorized generics "could stifle competition from generics," but
brand-name pharmaceutical companies maintain that they "are not trying
to undermine competition from generics" and that they are "spurring"
competition with the practice (Yi, Los Angeles Times, 7/15). "Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org You can view the
entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, and
sign up for email delivery at
www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily
Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free
service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. (c) 2006 Advisory
Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved." Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Heart, cancer drugs lift Novartis
Swiss pharmaceutical maker Novartis AG posted a 4 per cent rise in
second-quarter profit, to $1.71 billion US, on Monday due to higher
sales of its heart and cancer drugs. The figure was up from $1.64 billion in the same period last year, but
rose at a slower pace than sales because of costs for the integration
of acquired biotech company Chiron Corp., which took effect April 20. Second-quarter sales rose 18 per cent to $9.2 billion from $7.8
billion in the second quarter of 2005, Novartis said in a statement. "Our strategic focus on health care delivered dynamic growth, with all
divisions achieving excellent results expanding their market share,"
said chairman and CEO Daniel Vasella. "Led by our strategy and our commitment to innovation, I am confident
that Novartis will continue to grow strongly and achieve another year
of record sales and earnings." Sales growth was driven by the inclusion for the first time of sales
from generics company Hexal, which was acquired last year, and five
weeks of Chiron sales. Sales of prescription drugs rose ahead of the
industry average, up 11 per cent to $5.7 billion. "Prescription drug sales came in clearly ahead of expectations as they
continued to rise, while the market had expected growth to
decelerate," said Birgit Kulhoff, an analyst at Swiss private bank
Rahn & Bodmer. "Growth was healthy in the U.S., where the key brands
continued to grow against expectations of a slowdown for some of
them." Novartis's net profit for the first half rose 17 per cent to $3.7
billion. First-half sales were up 15 per cent, to $17.5 billion. The Basel-based company expects the consolidation of Chiron to reduce
its full-year net profit by $400 million to $450 million, but
maintained its outlook for posting record income in 2006. Novartis shares fell 0.3 per cent to 66.95 Swiss francs ($54.26) in
Zurich trading. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
A home-made Viagra
A concoction of herbs mixed with baboon's urine, which is widely sold
by traditional healers in the Vhembe region of Limpopo, is believed to
be having a sex-boosting effect like the well-known Viagra and it is
selling like hot cakes in the area. It is also alleged that the concoction was sent for testing to the
University of Pretoria two years ago and it has been given the thumbs
up. "True, the mixture has been approved by the university, but people
with sexual problems must first consult traditional healers, who will
prescribe it to them," said Mr Mmbulaheni Neluvhola, president of the
Council of Traditional Healers in South Africa. Neluvhola said that, before drinking the concoction, a man is first
given some traditional medicine that cleans the bladder. "Three days
later, I give them mageu mixed with herbs called mpesu, which boost
men's sexual life," he said with a chuckle, before adding "If I order
men to take two spoons, that must be strictly two spoons, because if
one exceeds the prescription, this can result in an erection lasting
for two days and that is not healthy." He added that local women "need strong men who can perform like tigers
in bed. Failure to live up to expectations can result in your wife
going to a younger man, because there is nothing that welds family
life better than sexual satisfaction," he added. Mr Dovhani Nembudani, who sells the product under trees in
Thohoyandou, says he is making a killing and he has even forgotten
that he is unemployed. "Men come in large numbers and my happy
customers always return to thank me for the medicine." Neluvhola has confirmed that the former Venda homeland is rich of
traditional Viagra called Mpesu and tshitunde tsha pfene. All these
herbs are found in the bush outside Thohoyandou. He cautioned young
men from using these traditional herbs, however, "because they could
end up sleeping with young girls and infect themselves with sexually
transmitted diseases like HIV/Aids". Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Viagra-like products draw an FDA warning
Some products advertised online as natural alternatives to impotence
drugs such as Viagra illegally contain the same active ingredients as
prescription medicines, the Food and Drug Administration said
Wednesday. The FDA warned consumers not to buy or use seven of the so-called
dietary supplements sold online to treat impotence and enhance sexual
performance. The list includes Zimaxx, which FDA testing showed
contains sildenafil, the same active ingredient in Viagra. Viagra,
made by Pfizer Inc., is sold in the United States only by
prescription.
A message left for Herbal Remedies USA, a Casper, Wyo.-based company
that sells Zimaxx on its website, was not immediately returned. The
FDA has sent letters to the company and five others that warn them
about marketing illegal drugs, based on the claims made for the
products or their ingredients. The other products named by the FDA are Libidus, Neophase, Nasutra,
Vigor-25, Actra-Rx and 4Everon. Chemical analyses showed the products
contain either chemical ingredients that are similar to sildenafil or
a second drug called vardenafil, the FDA said. Vardenafil is the
active ingredient in Levitra, an impotence drug sold by Glaxo
SmithKline PLC and ScheringPlough Corp. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Viagra being made illegally in Pakistan
There is a large market in Pakistan for the illegally made Viagra,
the sex-enhancement pill, with its ingredients mixed with Unani
medicine. The market for the smuggled and indigenously produced Viagra is run
mainly due to poor enforcement of regulations. A report of the health ministry submitted to the Supreme Court of
Pakistan in a case relating to prevalence of spurious drugs said that
certain classes of drugs including central nervous system stimulants
(CNS stimulants), sildenafil citrate (Viagra) and other steroids were
being prepared illegally, posing serious threats to human health. "Many pharmaceuticals manufacturers were involved in the illegal sale
of pharmaceutical raw material in the open market, which ultimately is
used in the production of many medicines and also in veterinary
medicines, including poultry feed that leads to health hazards. "One of the quoted example was sildenafil citrate, which is being
actively used in Punjab in certain Unani medicines," The News quoted
from a report on the findings discussed at a meeting of health
authorities chaired by the federal health secretary. Apart from smuggled drugs, the major sources of spurious drugs were at
the wholesale level as well as Ayurvedic, Unani and homoeopathic
systems of medicines due to poor regulation. The report further said the restricted pharmaceutical raw materials
required for the production of many herbal, Ayurvedic, and
homoeopathic drugs, including Viagra, are being sold illegally in the
open market, and were also being used in poultry feed leading to
serious health hazards in the country. The committee was formed after the Chief Justice took suo motu notice
of prevalence of spurious and substandard drugs in the country and
also noticed the uncontrolled sale of restricted medicines. It was pointed out in the meeting that many of the pharmaceutical
manufacturers, both the national and multinational firms, adopt
"unethical, non-professional and illegal practices". It was also observed that the unethical marketing trend was creating a
culture of money making among the pharmaceuticals at the cost of the
consumers. It also provokes and encourages such elements to indulge in the
production/sale of spurious drugs mainly in the name of herbal,
Ayurvedic and homeopathic products and many a time the allopathic
drugs as well, said the report. The meeting recommended that rules of the Pakistan Medical and Dental
Council (PMDC) should be amended to curb the unhealthy practice of
pharmaceutical firms. It was also observed that retailers without the prescription of a
registered medical practitioner were selling certain restricted
medicines. It was also pointed out at the meeting that a large segment of the
pharmaceutical industry was involved in promoting their drugs through
illegal advertisement, which compel the uneducated and unaware
population of the country to purchase and use such medicines as pose
serious risks to their health. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Sunday, July 16, 2006
All HIV sufferers to have access to drugs by 2010
All people suffering from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, will have
access to antiretroviral drugs by the end of this decade, the Russian
president said Sunday. Speaking at a meeting of the Group of Eight leaders with students from
the G8 countries, Vladimir Putin said: "If programs now in the making
are implemented, access to drugs will be provided for all HIV
carriers." The leaders of the world's major industrialized nations have made the
fight against HIV/AIDS one of the main topics on the agenda of their
current three-day meeting near St. Petersburg. Delegates to the Junior 8 forum, held in the run-up to the G8 summit,
have also raised concerns over the spread of the deadly virus across
the globe. At Sunday's meeting with the leaders of Russia, France,
Britain, Germany, Italy, the United States, Canada and Japan, they
brought up the problem of providing access to medical services for
HIV/AIDS patients, including in rural areas, and suggested softening
visa regulations for immunologists willing to share their expertise
with colleagues overseas. They also spoke in favor of broader information campaigns to raise
young people's awareness of HIV/AIDS and make them more sympathetic to
sufferers. The first meeting of J8 took place in Edinburgh in 2005 during the G8
summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
HIV/AIDS patients get pill that combines cocktail of drugs into one dose
A once-daily pill that combines three drugs used to treat HIV received
federal approval Wednesday, giving U.S. patients the first triple
"cocktail" therapy that can be swallowed as a single dose. The pill, called Atripla, combines three Food and Drug
Administration-approved AIDS drugs that already form one of the most
widely prescribed AIDS "cocktails." Atripla can replace the two or more pills HIV-positive patients now
must take each day to keep the human immunodeficiency virus in check,
as well as eliminate the need for multiple co-payments when the drugs
are purchased separately. That should simplify the treatment of HIV and AIDS and in turn could
slow the emergence - and ultimately, transmission - of drug-resistant
strains of the virus. Those strains can evolve when patients skip
pills. "It is a major, major breakthrough for all people living with HIV and
AIDS," said Frank Oldham Jr., executive director of the National
Association of People with AIDS. Oldham cautioned that AIDS patients
often still must take multiple other drugs to fend off infections and
other complications of their weakened immune systems. Some patients
also will take Atripla with a fourth drug to combat HIV. Atripla combines Viread (tenofovir), Emtriva (emtricitabine) and
Sustiva (efavirenz). Viread and Emtriva, both made by Gilead Sciences
Inc. of Foster City, Calif., are now sold in combination under the
brand name Truvada. Sustiva is made by New York-based Bristol-Myers
Squibb Co. The wholesale price of the new pill will be $1,150 for a 30-day
supply, or the same as for Truvada and Sustiva when purchased
separately. The new pill is expected to be available within seven
business days. Several initial attempts by the two companies to combine the three
drugs failed. The two companies then settled on a process called
"bi-layer" technology to join them in a single pill. "The fact that innovator companies in the U.S. have actually heeded
the call to collaborate on this is just an amazing happening," said
Veronica Miller, director of the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research.
The effort, Miller said, could lead to future collaborations on better
drug combinations formulated for use in infants and children. The FDA approved last month the first three-drug combination pill to
treat HIV as part of foreign AIDS relief efforts. That combo pill, for
sale only outside the United States, must be taken twice daily. About 40 million people worldwide, including 1 million Americans, are
HIV positive. Each year, roughly 5 million people are infected with
HIV and 3 million die from AIDS, according to the World Health
Organization. The three drugs inhibit the replication of HIV within the body but are
not a cure. Nor will the new pill be suitable for all patients:
Sustiva, for instance, can cause birth defects. Serious psychiatric
symptoms including severe depression, suicide attempts, aggressive
behaviour, delusions and paranoia also have been reported in patients
taking the drug. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Consumers to profit big as drugs go off patent
Consumers stand to save billions of dollars in prescription drug costs
in the next few years as an unprecedented wave of expensive brand-name
medications come off patent, facing competition from far-cheaper
generic versions. Four of the nation's 10 best-selling prescription medicines – treating
common ailments ranging from high cholesterol to asthma – are due to
lose patent protections starting this year through 2010. Never have so
many branded drugs, with annual sales of as much as $75 billion, lost
their patents in so brief a time, experts say. The savings for consumers could be enormous. Unlike hospital or doctor
care, which are expensive but paid mostly by health insurance,
patients pay a relatively higher share of prescription drug costs out
of their own pockets. The high cost of brand-name drugs has driven
many Americans to import lower-cost versions from Canada and other
nations. Generics can cost as much as 80 percent less than branded
versions. General Motors Corp., for example, said employees in its prescription
drug plan are paying 90 cents a pill for the generic version of
cholesterol-lowering Zocor, which lost its patent last month, compared
with as much as $4.50 for the branded version. Users of rival cholesterol-fighter Lipitor, the nation's top-selling
prescription medication whose patent doesn't expire until 2011, could
also save by switching to generic Zocor. The generic versions generally offer no loss in quality and
effectiveness, medical experts say. "For the vast majority of patients, generics work just like the brand
drugs," said Debra Judelson, a Beverly Hills, Calif., cardiologist. Generic drugs have been around for decades and their share of
prescriptions filled have grown steadily over the years, accounting
for just over half of all prescription drugs sold today versus a
quarter two decades ago. That share could rise beyond 60 percent by
the end of next year, said Ron Fontanetta, a healthcare specialist at
Towers Perrin, a human resources consulting firm. The upcoming surge of generics stems from an innovation boom in the
early 1990s, when giant drug companies such as Merck & Co. and Pfizer
Inc. launched blockbuster drugs. By law, patents last about 20 years, but companies spend many of those
years testing and getting government approvals for their new drugs.
The creators are typically left with between 12 and 14 years of
exclusive rights to sell the drugs, usually at high prices, to recoup
the enormous costs in inventing and developing the treatments. Many of those patents from the 1990s innovation wave are now beginning
to expire. A few days after Merck's cholesterol-fighter Zocor, the nation's No. 2
selling prescription drug, lost its patent last month, Pfizer's
antidepressant Zoloft, ranked No. 7, lost its patent. The patent for
Pfizer's high blood pressure medicine Norvasc expires next year. Express Scripts Inc., one of the country's largest managers of
pharmacy health benefits, estimates the potential overall savings from
generics this year alone is $24.7 billion. That is unlikely to make a major dent in the country's overall
escalating healthcare bill, at $2.6 trillion. But for many patients' health budgets, the savings can be huge.
Patients with health insurance pay as much as a quarter of
prescription drug costs out of their own pockets, compared with 20
percent for dental, 16 percent for physician services and 7 percent
for hospitals. How much consumers will save depends on how aggressively health plans
and care providers steer patients to generics. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
FDA: Some Sexual Performance Drugs May Be Harmful
Som Patidar - All Headline News Staff Writer
New York, NY (AHN) - Scientists from the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) have identified some sexual performance enhancer drugs such as
Zimaxx, Neophase, Nasutra, Vigor-25, Actra-Rx and 4EVERON as dangerous
products that threaten public health. Steven Galson, director of the FDA's center for drug evaluation and
research told a health news portal, "this drugs present a serious risk
because consumers may not know that the ingredients in these drugs can
interact with medications and dangerously lower their blood pressure." The FDA has sent warning letters to the companies marketing these
products stating that the products are illegal and the labeling is
false and misleading as it fails to disclose the presence of the
chemical ingredients or the potential side-effects associated with the
products' consumption, the portal said. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
Alternatives to Statin Drugs To Lower Cholesterol
Is there an alternative to statin drugs such as Lipitor and Pravachol?
If yes, does it have any side effects? Physicians are facing these
questions each day however, most have bought into the drug companies
marketing, and have not done the research for themselves.
The truth is that there a number of naturally-occurring compounds that
will work as well as, or better than, these multi-million dollar
drugs. These compounds are found naturally in our bodies, or are found
in nature. They don't cause the side effects commonly found with statins, and are
much safer to use. These compounds have been clinically shown to
improve cholesterol levels without the heart damaging side effects
found with statin drugs. Pantethine
So what are these compounds, and why hasn't the doctor told me about
them? Well, there are a couple of them. The first is Pantethine .
Pantethine is a compound in your body that is created from vitamin
B-5. Although your body produces it through enzyme metabolism,
supplementation of Pantethine has been shown to significantly improve
your cholesterol levels. As your body uses Pantethine, it slows down
cholesterol production in your liver.
Pantethine also increases the rate at which your metabolism uses fats.
Because of this effect, Pantethine has been clinically demonstrated to
increase your level of good cholesterol (HDL) while lower the level of
bad cholesterol (LDL) in your body. Where is the proof? Japan has actually been using Pantethine for over
30 years. There are a number of clinical trials that demonstrate its
effectiveness on cholesterol levels, as well as improved liver
function. Niacin Shown to Decrease LDL
In addition to Pantethine, the mineral Niacin has been shown to
greatly decrease the levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) in the blood
stream. Our Niacin intake is typically pretty low in western diets
because of the number and type of processed foods that we eat.
Subsequently, supplementation has been shown to significantly improve
our cholesterol profile. In fact, the combination of Niacin and
Pantethine can be more effective than statins in improving overall
cholesterol levels. The impact of this is significant, especially when you consider that
side of effects of Pantethine and Niacin are non-existent when
compared to the effects of statin drugs on you heart, liver, and short
term memory. In fact, there are no documented short or long-term side
effects with Pantethine. The only side effect with Niacin is a short
term hot flash that is harmless, and can be avoided by taking
time-release Niacin or taking an aspirin fifteen minutes before taking
the Niacin. Why Don't Doctors Prescribe Pantethine or Niacin?
Well, the answer is, he may just not know about it. Unlike drugs
companies that spend millions of dollars on advertising and have sales
reps whose only job is to push their statin drug, Pantethine and
Niacin are naturally occurring compounds.
Because they are natural and common compounds, nobody can patent them.
Because a drug companies cannot patent and therefore have exclusive
right to sell the compounds, no significant investment in marketing or
education for Pantethine and Niacin has been made. Subsequently, your
doctor may just not know. Policosanol Also Lowers Cholesterol
The final compound that has been demonstrated to have a dramatic
effect on cholesterol levels is Policosanol. This compound is a waxy
substance taken from sugar cane or bees wax. It has been demonstrated
to significantly reduce bad (LDL) cholesterol and to raise good (HDL)
cholesterol levels in the blood stream.
The specific mechanism that Policosanol uses to improve cholesterol
levels is not as understood as that of Niacin and Pantethine. However,
it is believed to both increase the elimination of LDL cholesterol in
the blood stream and aid the liver in creating good (HDL) cholesterol
in a manner similar to Pantethine. You Have Choices To Lower Your Cholesterol
Well, if you have high cholesterol, it means you have choices. Statin
drugs are highly effective. However, side effects for statins range
from muscle atrophy to loss of short term memory to significant heart
damage. Because statin drugs block your body from producing an enzyme
that makes an essential heart health vitamin as well as cholesterol,
the potential for negative side effects can be significant.
Alternatively, supplementation with Pantethine, Niacin, Policosanol,
or all three simultaneously has been shown to have no damaging side
effects and can be just as effective as statin drugs. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
hope of help with prescription costs
In a month's time, Mary Lugo spends about $900 in prescription
medicines. That's only about $50 less than what she receives from her
retirement.
"It is a lot of money for me to afford to pay all these," said
Lugo, of Ottawa, who is on prescriptions for high blood pressure and a
number of other conditions. "It is very, very tough."
Holding a bag of the medicines she's currently taking, Lugo sat on
a large bus parked outside the Lima Mall Friday. Inside, an official
with the Partnership for Prescription Assistance gathered information
from her to see if Lugo could receive some help.
"I hope I can get some help. It would be nice," Lugo said.
The Partnership for Prescription Assistance, a national program to
help patients access prescription medicines, has been bringing the
"Help is Here Express," a traveling education center, around the
country since April of last year.
"We're trying to raise awareness about patient assistance
programs," said Jennifer Page of PhRMA. "And to help people out there
who are having trouble affording their medicines get matched with the
patient assistance programs."
The tour spent two hours in Lima Friday, thanks to a partnership
with Lima Memorial Health System's Women's Center at Macy's. The tour
was in Findlay earlier Friday.
"It's the type of thing that we love to get involved with," said
Rebecca Jenkins, director of marketing at the hospital. "It enables
the community to get more information on a pretty heavy topic."
The national program is sponsored by pharmaceutical research
companies working with doctors, pharmacists, health care providers and
community groups. Since it started, it has helped nearly 2.5 million
patients around the country and 127,000 in Ohio receive free or nearly
free prescriptions.
"We know there are many more folks who could be eligible for
patient assistance programs. That's why we're here today," Page said,
saying that about 70 percent of those who are matched with a program
are under the age of 65, many times mothers of children who need a
little extra help.
There are 475 available programs. Page said the tour is bringing
them all together for easier access for people.
Those coming to the bus tour need to answer a few questions to see
if they can be matched with a program. People can also call
888-477-2669, or go to www.pparx.org for assistance. Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
|
