Healthy Skepticism Library item: 13905
Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.
Publication type: news
Johnson A, Winslow R.
Drug Makers Say FDA Safety Focus Is Slowing New-Medicine Pipeline
The Wall Street Journal 2008 Jun 30
http://www.collegejournal.com/article/SB121476772560213981.html?mod=most_emailed_day
Full text:
Nearly four years after Merck & Co. yanked the painkiller Vioxx off the market, beleaguered pharmaceutical-industry executives say they are facing a tough new regulatory climate that is altering the landscape of drug development.
Over the past 16 months, Schering-Plough Corp. Chief Executive Fred Hassan and his top scientists have pulled the plug on two drug-development projects — one for obesity and the other for cholesterol — that had the potential to produce big sellers. And they’re considering scrapping a third.
The reason: Mr. Hassan believes an intensifying focus on safety and a diminished tolerance for side effects at the …
