2000 BC - Here, eat this root.
1000 AD - That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.
1850 - That prayer is superstitious. Here, drink this potion.
1920 - That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.
1945 - That pill is ineffective. Here, take this penicillin.
1955 – Ooops. Bugs mutated. Here, take this tetracycline.
1960-1999 - 39 more “Ooops”. Here, take this more powerful drug.
2000 – The bugs have won. Here, eat this root.
Source: British Medical Journal (author unknown)
Bayer’s recent ad claims have become a real headache for the German drug company. The Center for Science in the Public Interest filed a lawsuit on September 30 against Bayer over ad claims for its One A Day Men’s Health Formula multi-vitamins. Bayer says that because its product contains selenium, it may reduce the risk of prostate cancer, which CSPI said has been proven false.
The nonprofit health advocacy group said it reached out to Bayer in June 2009, asking it to alter its marketing materials following the results of an eight-month clinical trial that showed that selenium does not prevent prostate cancer. It also showed selenium may actually have harmful affects such as an increased risk of diabetes. CSPI reported that Bayer threatened to sue for libel after the group spotlighted the alleged flaws in Bayer’s claims. And no wonder – Bayer pocketed almost $24 million in sales on this product during the past year.
Bayer might want to visit the Mayo Clinic website before it launches that libel suit. Mayo Clinic doctors apparently agree with CSPI:
“Some companies have suggested that daily doses of the mineral selenium, vitamin E or both may have helped to prevent prostate cancer. But further study has shown these supplements have no effect on prostate cancer. In some cases, these supplements may cause side effects or lead to other health conditions.”
Learn more: Why Prostate Cancer is Big Business, or about the Bayer lawsuit.
This Stayfree magazine spoof of a fictitious drug called PANEXA would be hilarious if it weren’t so eerily close to how Big Pharma is actually marketing prescription drugs. This “Ask Your Doctor” type of ad is what Big Pharma calls Direct To Consumer advertising – and it really works.
PLEASE READ THIS SUMMARY CAREFULLY, THEN ASK YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT PANEXA AND HOW TO PROVIDE YOU WITH LARGE QUANTITIES. THIS ADVERTISEMENT DOES NOT TAKE THE PLACE OF ADVICE FROM YOUR DOCTOR; RATHER, IT PROVIDES YOU WITH NEW INFORMATION ABOUT NEW DRUGS YOU SHOULD BE USING.
PANEXA is a prescription drug that should only be taken by patients experiencing one of the following disorders:
This story is enough to strike terror into our hearts. Literally. If you happen to be a medical researcher, it’s even more troubling, because anytime you have patients dying during clinical trials, researchers investigated by their employers, lawsuits launched against hospitals by their own doctors, drug companies funding research into products that kill people, patients misinformed about what studies would do to them, and world-famous heart institutes trying to sweep all of it under the rug – well, it looks bad.
The non-profit Huffington Post Investigative Fund obtained government documents last week about a two-year drug study undertaken at Columbia University Medical Center between 1999 and 2001 that was so badly mismanaged, it will likely be used as a case study in future PR classes.
This study focused on four fluids called ‘blood expanders’ that are administered by anaesthesiologists and combat medics when patients/soldiers have lost significant quantities of blood. Blood expanders are frequently needed during over half a million cardiac surgeries performed each year in North America alone.
Trouble was: two of the study’s four blood expanders contained hetastarch, which two previous studies dating back to 1981 had already warned would prevent blood from clotting at high dosages, and one of the two, Hextend, was manufactured by drug giant Abbott Laboratories - coincidentally one of the funders of the study. Abbott’s interest was in boosting its share of the blood expander business with Hextend if the Columbia study results were favourable. Continue reading
