drugs are the third world economic activity after the arms trade and drug trafficking ...
in Spain Drugmakers spend more than 2,500 million euros in promoting , ie for purchasing decisions: almost three times the money on research ...
In EE. UU. the side effects of medications are the fourth leading cause of death, ahead of diabetes, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and traffic accidents. In the FICF estimate that every year in Spain tens of thousands of people by those side effects ...
Medical Laboratory (ed. Peninsula), Miguel Jara, collect illegal practices to ensure that a particular drug médicosreceten recommended by health visitors.
Gods in white coats (Ed. Planeta), Josep Ramon Germà Lluch, facing the vanity and the desire of the éticamédicade éxitoa two oncologists at the trial of a drug.
match Two books now in bookstores, an essay and a novel, to bring his vision about the intricacies of this sector. Medical Laboratory, Miguel Jara (Peninsula), in his essay proposes a journey inside medicine and the pharmaceutical industry through the health visitor, a figure disputed in this work by promoting business cases, lucrative for your business but sometimes at the expense of the interests of the patient. This is the game of Jara thesis: most laboratories pursue the profitability of their medications but sometimes it involves ignoring the rights of citizens.
Miguel Jara, writer and journalist, a researcher in health and ecology, a former correspondent in Spain of the British Medical Journal, has heard dozens of stories of visitors who say they are kidnapped by their work. Laboratories to put pressure on doctors to prescribe their products through their sales teams is something that few others see legend and reality. When the case of "institutionalized form," insists the author, citizenship can expect to pay a toll of health, deteriorates the prestige of medicine, and is a fraud on the public finances.
Since 2002, the relationship between pharmaceutical companies and physicians is regulated by a Code of Practice. And the industry defends him: "This code was provided with the resulting self-regulation, whose breach entails serious economic penalties for companies filed," said Julian Zabala, director of communications Farmaindustria.
The situation began to change a decade ago. "Scientific societies are much more vigilant when a specialist participates in an investigation prompted declaration of conflict of interest," said Dr. James Sellarés, board member of the College of Metges of Barcelona. "We can not ensure that there are these bad practices, but not like before. It is a model of the last century, which left the Administration in the hands of industry training for doctors."
And with economic cutbacks, the industry has fewer resources to invest in physicians. "Now many do not accept input CAP of visitors. "Sellarés says.
The novel which exposes the murky machinations of the pharmaceutical industry is the subtitle that Metro has been used as bait to morbid for Gods in white coats, fiction has Wrote oncologist Barcelona, \u200b\u200bJosep Ramon Germà Lluch, director of knowledge management and department head of Medical Oncology at the Institut Català d'Oncologia (ICO). It is part of the world of clinical trials, the desire for success and hurry to do so. The central scenario is Barcelona and their oncologists star.
"I had the need for it is possible to report when things are not done right," says the author. Again according to his thesis, the rush has led to the occurrence of deaths from long-term effects of drugs that had not been sufficiently studied. "The story is based on real events, but set in the field of oncology, because it is what I know best, not because he is telling something that happened with drugs for cancer," he says.
Germà Lluch about drug recalls in history were more or less recent hugely damaging for various failures during the investigation and that are now banned and withdrawn. As a drug, thalidomide, for nausea during pregnancy, depending on when he took caused serious injuries to the fetus. O estrogen for menopause, which if taken for more than five years increased the incidence of breast cancer. Always using that game between reality and fiction, Lluch recalls heart problems that gave an antidiabetic retired just two years ago in France.
"The rush and pressure us to lose critical," said Lluch. This shortcoming and the huge amount of money is at stake, "we do sometimes lose sight of why things are done." In the novel tells a world of clinical trials almost chain through effective external companies themselves coldly laboratories that meet the test objective, regardless of their impact. A world of healing measured in many zeros. Fact or fiction, asks the reader. "Taking a drug can cost 1,700 million dollars and it takes 12 or 14 years. Now you try it in 7 or 8. It may be little time to see what the long-term effects."
The two big agencies that allow drugs (The U.S. FDA and European EMA) are the same institutions that have to withdraw a drug when it goes well, says the oncologist. And besides, the industry can pay to have the review process be shortened. "We still critical - .Necesitamos adds more than ever, discussion groups on the clinical benefit that should have at least one drug."
Meanwhile, questions remain about the functioning of the European Medicines Agency. For many MEPs, the agency responsible for ensuring their safety, is very sensitive to the interests of big pharma and last week the Parliament not only refused to endorse their accounts of the past two years but ordered the opening of an investigation into the source of their funding, Beatriz Navarro reports. "There is no guarantee that the development of medicines is carried out by independent experts," says the European Parliament, warning of possible "conflict of interest" in the Agency. MEPs question the actions of the Agency in the case of a drug to treat diabetes (benflourex before sold as Mediator), which took 10 years off the market since the first reports warning of dangerous side effects. The agency has been accused of lacking transparency. It took a decision of the Ombudsman for the Agency agreed to publish reports on clinical trials held in secret on the grounds of not harming the interests of manufacturers.
In an article published on 11 in the British Medical Journal, doctors Danish Anders Peter Gøtzschey Jørgensenculpan to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) of having "the profits of drug companies above the protection of life and welfare of the patient. " In particular, complain of "selective publication" of the tests performed on drugs. This practice, they say, is "widespread" leads to "overstate the benefits and underestimate the damage" from the drug, which makes that "doctors can not choose the best treatment for our patients." Jørgensen Gøtzschey highlights "disastrous consequences" that it may have, as was seen with the painkiller rofecoxib, "which may have caused 100,000 heart attacks unnecessary EE. UU.." These physicians reported that it took more than three years to ensure that the EMP will provide the evidence published on the anti-obesity drug Rimonabant, in 2010, was withdrawn because of side effects.
Something smells rotten " in the pharmaceutical sector, claimed three years ago the then European Commissioner for Competition, Neelie Kroes from the Netherlands. His services had detected the presence of suspicious business practices stop trying to market the generic drug, depriving European public health substantial savings. On average, these products are 40% cheaper than original drugs.
Large pharmaceutical companies are suspect for example, to launch complex legal proceedings to postpone the launch of generics, making multiple records for the same medicine, patent intermediates for their production and also difficult to "buy" to generic manufacturers to remove them as long as possible market.
seems harsh words Kroes (and its threat to impose substantial fines) took effect, because only a year and a half after the European Commission found a substantial reduction in the number of agreements concluded between companies suspected sector. Between 2000 and 2008, 22% of the Covenants killings between big pharma and generic manufacturers raised concerns, versus 10% of cases closed in the first half of 2008.
However, Brussels does not lower his guard and keeps these companies in check. Before the summer will publish its second report on the developments. "There is still concern," EU sources say . The proof is in the three cases opened in recent months companies suspected of trying to stop the sale of generic equivalents Citalopram, a popular antidepressant, or to Modafinil, used to treat sleep disorders. The threat of fines from the EU remains on the table.
17-V-11, N. Escur / A. MacPherson / B. Navarro, bbc
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