Reply #17: That is some broad sweeping statement you have made... [View All]

[rexcat]

There are more sides to this issue than what I am seeing in this thread. I do agree that some of the practices of the Pharma companies are way less than ethical. On the other hand there are some wonderful advancements in treatment modalities because of the clinical research done by the Pharma companies.

When it comes to children it is well known that they react to drugs differently than adults. That is why clinical trials need to be conducted in children to see if they are safe and effective, or not! Our wonderful US Supreme Court told the FDA that the Pediatric Rule was not valid (thanks to the Pharma companies opposition to the rule, and I might add by the conservatives in the Congress) and the FDA had to stop requiring drug studies in the pediatric setting. Fortunately a majority in the Congress agreed with the FDA and Congress did the right thing and has changed the laws to reinstate the Pediatric Rule.

I am an advocate of having negative data published but that is not the norm in the industry. The FDA is usually not privy to most of the negative data unless there are very serious adverse events (hospitalization, death, etc.) in the trials. Usually what happens is the drug is not found to work and the New Drug Application (NDA) is withdrawn, end of story.

It should also be noted that only about 1 in 20 drugs that go to clinical trial ever make it to market. It is a costly process to get a new drug to market. The sad thing is about half the money goes to marketing (those fancy advertisements found in your favorite magazine). It was not until 1994-1995 (after the repukes took over the US House that advertising of prescription medications were allowed to the general public. IMO a big mistake.

One last point, the Pharma industry is the most regulated industry in the US as it should be.