martes, 30 de junio de 2015

The High Cost of Care Is Driving Cancer Patients to Bankruptcy NBC



Lauren Baumann is one of the lucky ones. 

Though she has cancer, chronic myeloid leukemia, it is manageable, as long as she takes a daily pill called Gleevec. Gleevec is considered a wonder drug, turning Lauren's leukemia from a death sentence to a disease she and thousands of others can live with. The problem is, even with health insurance and a full-time job, Lauren can't afford the monthly co-pay for Gleevec. It can be as high as $2,000 a month — twice the average mortgage payment in the U.S. 

"I feel like you get punished," says Baumann. "I didn't ask to get cancer; I didn't ask to get sick. I was 26 and I was perfectly healthy."

Now 30, this single mom of 9-year-old Aubrey has scrambled almost every month for the last four years looking for help to pay her medical bills. 

"It's embarrassing. I do have a job; I do make money and I still have to call and beg.

Baumann, who lives in Kentucky, has reached out to churches, charities, and even Gleevec's manufacturer Novartis for assistance, always motivated by her determination to see her daughter grow up. 

 "On days I feel like I can't go on anymore or don't have any fight left in me, all I have to do is look at her and she is my why. She is my reason.

And that is why she is furious at the cost of Gleevec, which she must take for life to manage her chronic form of leukemia. The wholesale price has tripled since it came on the market in 2001, rising from $2,624 a month to $9,210

Gleevec is now a nearly $5 billion-a-year drug for Novartis

Dr. Peter Bach, director of Memorial Sloan Kettering's Center for Health Policy and Outcomes in New York, says Gleevec is one example of a cancer drug market that in his words is "utterly broken." 

 The shortest answer to why cancer drugs are so expensive, said Bach, is "because they can be." (...)

In the last five years, 15 new cancer drugs entered the market with price tags of $10,000 or more. 
Bach says things must change. He wants to tie price to performance

(Más)

 

 Opina PharmaGuy*


  Drug companies should be more pro-active in finding patients like Ms. Baumann who cannot afford their medications and help them BEFORE it becomes big news on national TV. That means not selling the PILL, but a personalized "concierge" service to patients -- especially those who are shelling out high co-pays for their drugs. Like an investment manager who asks about your income and long-term goals before investing your money, pharma needs to pro-actively determine the economic status of patients who take their prescribed medications and automatically enroll qualified patients in their much ballyhooed "patient assistance programs" (PAPs). There should people inside pharma whose job is to do this and to assist people through the process. That's what I call "patient centricity," which is only a buzzword today. 

If Novartis was pro-active and discovered Lauren's problem - and fixed it - before NBC News did, they could have told a much different story about Lauren and Aubrey. How their journey did NOT include selling their house and moving in with elderly grandma. How Lauren and Aubrey survived with dignity and thrived economically thanks to Novartis

Instead, the industry continues to defend high prices using the same old argument - it supports research. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Nobody cares! That's not a human interest story! There's no Aubrey in that story! 

(*) Pharmaguy™ (@pharmaguy) is a "constructive critic" of the pharmaceutical industry. 

Ver también:

Alegaciones de Novartis al defender patente de Gleevec: "sham"...*

UK: El Alcalde (London) Boris Johnson "apuesta" por la I+D Pharma




"London is one of the 
most powerful scientific 
discovery engines in the world,"
Boris Johnson


LONDON (Reuters) -

Banks, investors and big drug companies should consider creating a 10-billion-pound ($15.7 billion) "megafund" to help biotech firms in London and across Britain compete with U.S. rivals, London mayor Boris Johnson said on Thursday. 

 Britain is a leader in academic scientific work and also home to two of the world's top drugmakers - GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca - yet emerging life science companies often find it difficult to secure funding. 

The suggested new pool of debt and equity finance is designed to help plug that gap and is one of a number of ideas being floated at a conference in London bringing together leading figures in industry, finance and research. 

The meeting includes representatives from Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Imperial Innovations, Silicon Valley Bank , the European Investment Bank and JP Morgan. 

 "We hope to harness our role as a global financial center that will bring more life-saving drugs to market and deliver a huge boost to the economy," Johnson said. 

The suggested megafund would be able to invest in multiple drugs at different stages of development, with investors receiving a percentage of the royalties from successful products or licensing revenues that result.

Ver


The proposed creation of the fund follows the launch of MedCity last year to promote life sciences research, development, entrepreneurship and commercialisation in the UK. MedCity executive Eliot Forster suggested that the UK was failing to capitalise on its world-class research base because of a lack of adequate investment in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. "If you compare the UK to other leading life sciences hubs, we are extremely competitive – we have huge innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial drive, and we are increasingly agile in translating exciting research into spin-out companies," Forster stated. 
The executive continued "if we want to develop another [GlaxoSmithKline] or AstraZeneca, if we want to get a full return on the investment we put into our research base, and if we want better therapies more quickly, this is an issue we have to address."  

Ver

lunes, 29 de junio de 2015

domingo, 28 de junio de 2015

Anti-vaccine Dr Jeff Bradstreet dead in apparent suicide / Conspiracists fired up...

CHIMNEY ROCK, N.C. (AP) --

Authorities say anti-vaccine Dr. Jeff Bradstreet has been found dead in an apparent suicide in North Carolina. 

 The Rutherford County Sherriff's Office said in a news release issued this week that Bradstreet died of what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. Bradstreet was found in a river in the Rocky Broad River in Chimney Rock on June 19. His body was found by a fisherman. 

Bradstreet is from Braselton, Georgia. The sheriff's department said Tuesday that a handgun was also pulled from the river. 

Authorities are still investigating. His family is raising funds online to investigate his death. 

Bradstreet ran a clinic in Buford, Georgia, and published autism research based on the disputed claim vaccines cause autism. The medical community says such claims have been disproved.(Más)


Anti-vax doctor dead of apparent suicide; conspiracists fired up 

Bradstreet was a proponent of the mercury toxicity of vaccines – a position that is unsupported and soundly disregarded. His arguments on this count were demolished by the Vaccine Court

Within hours of news of his death, the conspiracy theories started: “Prominent anti-vaxxer, and a close family friend, dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot to chest (chest, my ass) (Más)

5 extraños efectos secundarios de algunos medicamentos: desde orgasmos hasta rizar el pelo.


En pleno S.XXI no es raro que, por un ligero dolor de cabeza, acudamos a las pastillas como las salvadoras de nuestro malestar. 

No obstante, muchas veces nos olvidamos de mirar su prospecto y nos las tomamos con cierto automatismo, algo sumamente desaconsejable, pues no son pocas las que cuentan con unos efectos secundarios tan curiosos como inimaginables. 

Y es que, entre otras cosas, un fármaco puede hacer que tu orina se vuelva azul o, incluso, provocar una erección que tarde en marcharse horas y horas. 

1-El pelo liso se vuelve rizado 
 Uno de los efectos secundarios más extraños que puede producir un medicamente, tal y como afirma la versión digital del diario «Daily Mail», viene de la mano del valproato de sodio (utilizado, entre otras cosas, para tratar enfermedades como la epilepsia). Entre las cambios que puede generar en el cuerpo, destaca que puede volver el pelo de un ser humano rizado. Tiene otros más graves, pues puede provocar anomalías en el feto en el caso de las embarazadas. 

 2-Bostezos constantes y orgasmos espontáneos 
No son menos extraños los efectos secundarios que puede provocar la clomipramina (utilizada principalmente para el tratamiento de las fobias y las crisis nerviosas). Y es que, en contadas ocasiones llega a generar bostezos continuados en el paciente. También puede provocar un orgasmo espontáneo en aquel que la toma. Al parecer, este último síntoma lo han padecido dos personas, un número suficiente para que el síntoma tenga que ir en el prospecto. La primera -según la revista «Canadian Journal Psychiatry», fue una mujer en 1983. La segunda, un hombre que, aun con todo, se la siguió tomando para luchar contra su depresión. 

3-La orina se vuelve azul 
 Medicamentos como la Viagra también cuentan con varios efectos secundarios. Entre ellos destaca puede provocar que la orina de aquellos que la ingieran se vuelva azul debido a una serie de colorantes. Así lo afirma Colin Cable, jefe de la Real Sociedad Farmacéutica británica, a la versión digital del «Daily Mail». Lo mismo sucede con algunos fármacos utilizados para combatir la retención de líquidos y con el metileno (usado para tratar infecciones urinarias y algunas formas de anemia genética). Cuando un medicamento da a la orina un color determinado, suele deberse a la forma en que las enzimas en el hígado descomponen el fármaco y cambian su estructura química. 

4-Erecciones de larga duración 
Un gran número de medicamentos (entre ellos algunos como la trazodona, utilizado para combatir la depresión) pueden generar una erección de larga duración. La razón es sencilla: la sangre acumulada en el miembro no puede regresar al cuerpo y provoca que éste se mantenga hinchado durante horas. Según los expertos, aunque este síntoma parezca hilarante, lo cierto es que es muy doloroso y requiere atención médica urgente ya que, de lo contrario, el paciente puede tener problemas para contar con una erección posteriormente. 

5-Lactancia espontánea (y hasta masculina) 
Finalmente, algunos fármacos como el haloperidol (utilizado para combatir el trastorno bipolar y la esquizofrenia) puede generar galactorrea. Esta anomalía se corresponde con la secreción de leche en períodos de no lactancia para las mujeres (y en cualquier instante para los varones). 
(Ver)

sábado, 27 de junio de 2015

Kim pill


The secretive state of North Korea has unveiled a pill that claims to increase strength, brainpower and 'sexual function' while also sending you into a deep sleep. 

It has echoes of the pill that appeared in the Hollywood film 'Limitless' starring Bradley Cooper that enabled the user to access 100 per cent of their brain abilities. 

Ver:

NZT una píldora...de película: Limitless / Sin límites (para el Marketing, al menos)


According to Foreign State, a state owned magazine, the pill can 'strengthen growth hormones' and 'increase sexual function in the elderly'.

It also claims to build muscle, improve mental concentration, help relieve fatigue, car sickness and anaemia, promote growth while at the same time allowing 'sound sleep'.

The super pill can also be taken by children to promote growth, while enhancing sexual function for the elderly.


The magazine explains how two or three pills should be taken several times a day. 

Children are advised to have one or two pills each time they snack. 

Aside from the super-strength Viagra tablet, the unusual list of items for sale from the murderous regime include furs, tea, booze, snacks and hangover cures. 

 The corporation claims to use furs from various animals including some that are not indigenous to North Korea: it lists silver fox, nutria (also known as a river rat), otter, badger and rabbit. (Más)

viernes, 26 de junio de 2015

Cinema Paradiso: Side Effects (2005) / Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau



Side Effects, a semi autobiographical comedy by neophyte writer-director Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau, stars Katherine Heigl (My Father the Hero, The Ringer) as Karly Hert, an employee for a major pharmaceutical house, who deeply values her position at the firm but gently questions company ethics. She meets and falls for Zach (Lucian McAfee who works for a week as a sales rep for Karly's firm before he becomes totally disgusted with shaky corporate mores and books it to head out into the country and build his own house. Karly is ready to follow him, until the money starts rolling in. Soon, Karly and Zach run into a head-to-head conflict of values, and Karly is forced to choose between the company and her new beau. Side Effects co-stars Dorian de Michele and Dave Durbin.

Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau is a mom, wife and former drug pusher (legally) turned filmmaker. At 35, with no prior filmmaking experience, she wrote, directed, and co-produced the independent feature film Side Effects (starring Katherine Heigl) as well as the documentary Money Talks: Profits Before Patient Safety. These two independent feature films have received international acclaim. Kathleen has learned first hand how to rock the boat and shake things up. From drugs, to film, to radio, to yoga…Kathleen’s career has been anything but a straight path.

Ver tambien:

Film "Side Effects" Exposes Pharmaceutical Secrets

Confessions of a drug rep


 

Alegaciones de Novartis al defender patente de Gleevec: "sham"...*


BOSTON (Legal Newsline) – 
A class action lawsuit filed in federal court this week alleges that a patent infringement lawsuit filed by multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis against generic maker Sun Pharma simply was a delay tactic. 

The United Food and Commercial Workers Unions and Employers Midwest Health Benefits Fund, or UFCW, and the Laborers Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern California filed the lawsuit on behalf of a class of all purchasers of NovartisGleevec drug in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts Monday.(...)

Gleevec, which costs about $9,000 a month, was expected to go generic effective July 5. 

The Food and Drug Administration already has cleared two generic applications, but Novartis has barred Sun Pharma from releasing its generic version of Gleevec for at least an additional seven months by way of a “sham*” patent infringement lawsuit. 

 According to the 82-page proposed class action, Novartis unlawfully listed invalid follow-on patents in the FDA’s Orange Book.(Más)

 Slide: F.Comas/Curso Postgrado Mercadeo Farmacéutico/
Facultad de Farmacia/Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV)


Ver:

El imperio contra...: Generic´s new legal attack


Ver también:

India: Novartis pierde batalla legal GLIVEC

Comisión Europea y Sector farmacéutico (III): Malas prácticas...


(*) "sham": simulacro, farsa (ver)

jueves, 25 de junio de 2015

Prescribir App´s / Health 2.0 Barcelona (Richard Brady)

"GPs will be asked 
to recommend apps 
that are free or cheap 
for their patients to use, 
in an attempt to give patients 
more power and 
reduce visits to doctors."
The Telegraph

 
Ver

“la falta de calidad de algunas apps 
de tipo diagnóstico, 
como las de melanoma, 
representan un peligro 
para la salud de las personas” 
Dr. Richard Brady, Helath2.0EU Barcelona

 

Las apps de salud también fueron objeto de análisis en el excelente e intenso programa del  Health 2.0 Barcelona.




 Richard Brady, @ researchactive cirujano irlandés experto en salud digital, explicó los principales problemas que presentan muchas de estas apps, principalmente, la falta de validación científica de sus contenidos y un interés claramente comercial. 

El cirujano explicó que el Colegio de Médicos británico ha lanzado una normativa que establece que los médicos sólo pueden recomendar apps validadas por la Comisión Europea, es decir, que tengan el sello CE.


Otro ponente, Alexander Schachinger (@ePatient_RSD) presentó los resultados de la encuesta al e-Paciente realizada en Alemania, que reveló que los pacientes priorizan en las apps la usabilidad y la comprensión de los contenidos. (Más)


Ver: 
Sergio Vañó ‘Los médicos ya hemos empezado a recetar apps’ 

“las aplicaciones móviles no están concebidas 
dentro del sistema sanitario 
como parte del tratamiento de un paciente 
o como instrumento de ayuda 
en el cuidado de la salud”
The App  Date
 Ver:
Los médicos no saben qué ‘apps’ prescribir ni los pacientes cuáles elegir

Taking Flight: Pharm Exec's Top 50 Pharma Companies 2015 (III)











Ver anterior:

Taking Flight: Pharm Exec's Top 50 Pharma Companies 2015 (II)

miércoles, 24 de junio de 2015

MMS y los "malos" de la malaria: «Arzobispo» Jim Humble, Madre Teresa Forcades, Amén de Novartis...


MMS, or the Miracle Mineral Supplement, is a beverage product designed by former aerospace engineer, Jim Humble, who has tested his MMS protocol in Malawi and other parts of Africa. Initially used to treat malaria, the manufacturer claims field-tested success in treating and reversing the effects of AIDS, malaria, hepatitis, herpes, tuberculosis, most cancers, and a host of other diseases. (Ver)

 El Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS)/ Suplemento Mineral Milagroso empezó a promoverlo como terapia el «arzobispo» Jim Humble, con su libro (autopublicado) The Miracle Mineral Solution of the 21st Century (2006). 

Con este sustento, el «arzobispo» Humble y "acólitos", promocionan profusamente el producto, con énfasis en RRSS (Redes Sociales).



Jim Humble promueve la SMM como una cura para un sinfín de enfermedades. Se apoya en "espurios" ensayos clínicos que la misma Sarah Musisi, Director Health and Care Uganda Red Cross Society, se encargó de desmentir en correspondencia al Editor de "La ciencia y sus demonios":


Dear Manuel
The Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) dissociates itself in the strongest terms from the content of the recent Master Mineral Solution newsletter (May 2013) entitled “Malaria finally defeated” and supporting YouTube video.
URCS does not support nor endorse in any manner the claims made in relation to this project, and has at no time been involved in ‘clinical trials’ in relation to malaria treatment.
At no time did the URCS permit its name or logo to be used or associated with any such public communication campaign.
For the past decade, URCS has been at the forefront of malaria prevention programming, as auxiliary to its public authorities and in full respect of World Health Organization guidelines for malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
URCS continues to urge those suffering from malaria symptoms to seek treatment at the nearest health facility.
Thank you for contacting URCS on this.
Sarah Musisi Director Health and Care Uganda Red Cross Society

Por afinidades religiosas quizás o común afición por las "paraciencias" se incorpora como "acólit@/ficha" la Madre Teresa (en el "tiempo" Forcades)

Ver: 

Ultimas tardes con la MadreTeresa en el "Club de los "paracientíficos muertos"...? No, bien "vivos"...




 El producto, MMS es simplemente clorito sódico (NaClO2), lejía...
Las autoridasdes sanitarias de varios paises (España incluida) prohibieron su uso advirtiendo que su consumo implica graves riesgos.


When 15-year-old Rhys Morgan was diagnosed with Crohn's disease a few months ago he turned to the internet for help, and came across the Crohn's Disease Forum, a website offering support to patients. "I was looking for a support forum, a community of people with same illness as me and some on the same meds as me.

He followed the site for a while and noticed a disturbing undercurrent of people trying to push alternative medicines to members. One product in particular was called Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS), and its website claimed it cured cancer, Aids, malaria, and basically most things short of actual death. 

Curious to know more about it, Rhys decided to Google it, and came across the following US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning: 

"The product, when used as directed, produces an industrial bleach that can cause serious harm to health. The product instructs consumers to mix the 28 percent sodium chlorite solution with an acid such as citrus juice. This mixture produces chlorine dioxide, a potent bleach used for stripping textiles and industrial water treatment. High oral doses of this bleach, such as those recommended in the labeling, can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and symptoms of severe dehydration." 

In other words, MMS is extremely nasty stuff, and the medical advice given is that anyone who has this product should stop using it immediately and throw it away. In Canada it was banned after causing a life-threatening reaction. 

Intrigued, Rhys returned to the MMS website and found some helpful instructions: "Basically, after making it up, you take a few drops of it. You judge if you're getting better by how nauseous you feel after taking it. Seriously."  (Más)

Sorprendente la grave  i_Responsabilidad Social Corporativa de algunas multinacionales farmacéuticas (Novartis p.e.) que abandonan el apoyo/programas al tercer mundo y abren puertas a la "paraciencia".

Ver:

Las "incoherencias" de Novartis respecto a la malaria.

Taking Flight: Pharm Exec's Top 50 Pharma Companies 2015 (II)






Ver anterior:

Taking Flight: Pharm Exec's Top 50 Pharma Companies 2015 (I)