Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Counterfeit Medications:
(Part II of a series)
By Phillip T. Alden – San Mateo Daily Journal
For publication – June 12, 2007
In my next article I will go further into Dr. Adams' study, but in this part I would like to discuss one of the causal factors behind the drug crisis in America today.
As an AIDS activist I have a unique perspective when it comes to drug companies and our drug delivery system. I have been to numerous medical conferences, spoken with research scientists and health care providers, and dealt with insurance companies and drug companies on many different levels.
Research scientists and doctors are very busy people. Most researchers have no idea what happens after their compound is turned over to a drug company. When, as AIDS activists, we took the time to educate these men, they were shocked at the behavior of the drug companies. Here's an example:
Abbott Labs makes a Protease Inhibitor (PI) called Norvir. The drug is too toxic to be taken by itself, but they discovered that a small amount of Norvir (100mg) boosts the levels of other PIs in the bloodstream. So Norvir is either taken with another PI or incorporated into the other PI. This advantage has been a boon to Abbott Labs, (to say the least.)
A few years ago Abbott decided to raise the price of Norvir by 400%, making all other PIs very expensive and making their lead PI at the time (Kaletra) the cheapest PI on the market. Numerous states ended up launching criminal investigations against Abbott Labs for violating the rules of free-trade we have established to protect the consumer.
But the research scientists and the doctors knew nothing about this until we told them. Doctors get a rather myopic view through publications sent to them like "Managed Care Magazine," which is produced by the health insurance industry and driven by drug ads. It's propaganda of the worst sort that tells doctors that, if we enact national health insurance, their workload will explode and their compensation will take a nose-dive.
So we not only told the doctors what was happening, we got them to sign a boycott of Abbott products. They agreed to write a prescription for a non-Abbott drug whenever possible, they signed on to a letter to the drug company, and they refused to see Abbott drug representatives when they came to their offices.
Abbott ignored everything until their reps came back saying the doctor refused to see them. Of all the steps we took, even the threat of criminal investigation mattered little to Abbott. But refusing to see reps shook the company and scared them. They feared we'd use this strategy more often, that we'd educate the doctors.
So they caved and lowered the price of Norvir.
But this is a major part of the problem. PHARMA lobbyists give a lot of money to both Democrats and Republicans at the state and national level, assuring favorable treatment regardless of how the political winds blow. They influence drug policy on many levels. They are a prime example of how corporate influence has polluted politics, and they are part of the reason that, even though 76% of all Americans favor some form of national health insurance, our political leaders refuse to address our health care crisis.
(Part II of a series)
By Phillip T. Alden – San Mateo Daily Journal
For publication – June 12, 2007
In my next article I will go further into Dr. Adams' study, but in this part I would like to discuss one of the causal factors behind the drug crisis in America today.
As an AIDS activist I have a unique perspective when it comes to drug companies and our drug delivery system. I have been to numerous medical conferences, spoken with research scientists and health care providers, and dealt with insurance companies and drug companies on many different levels.
Research scientists and doctors are very busy people. Most researchers have no idea what happens after their compound is turned over to a drug company. When, as AIDS activists, we took the time to educate these men, they were shocked at the behavior of the drug companies. Here's an example:
Abbott Labs makes a Protease Inhibitor (PI) called Norvir. The drug is too toxic to be taken by itself, but they discovered that a small amount of Norvir (100mg) boosts the levels of other PIs in the bloodstream. So Norvir is either taken with another PI or incorporated into the other PI. This advantage has been a boon to Abbott Labs, (to say the least.)
A few years ago Abbott decided to raise the price of Norvir by 400%, making all other PIs very expensive and making their lead PI at the time (Kaletra) the cheapest PI on the market. Numerous states ended up launching criminal investigations against Abbott Labs for violating the rules of free-trade we have established to protect the consumer.
But the research scientists and the doctors knew nothing about this until we told them. Doctors get a rather myopic view through publications sent to them like "Managed Care Magazine," which is produced by the health insurance industry and driven by drug ads. It's propaganda of the worst sort that tells doctors that, if we enact national health insurance, their workload will explode and their compensation will take a nose-dive.
So we not only told the doctors what was happening, we got them to sign a boycott of Abbott products. They agreed to write a prescription for a non-Abbott drug whenever possible, they signed on to a letter to the drug company, and they refused to see Abbott drug representatives when they came to their offices.
Abbott ignored everything until their reps came back saying the doctor refused to see them. Of all the steps we took, even the threat of criminal investigation mattered little to Abbott. But refusing to see reps shook the company and scared them. They feared we'd use this strategy more often, that we'd educate the doctors.
So they caved and lowered the price of Norvir.
But this is a major part of the problem. PHARMA lobbyists give a lot of money to both Democrats and Republicans at the state and national level, assuring favorable treatment regardless of how the political winds blow. They influence drug policy on many levels. They are a prime example of how corporate influence has polluted politics, and they are part of the reason that, even though 76% of all Americans favor some form of national health insurance, our political leaders refuse to address our health care crisis.
# posted by Phillip T. Alden @ 10:44 AM 
