Healthy Skepticism Library item: 1572
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: Journal Article
Kaisernetwork.org
Prescription Drugs: PhRMA CEO Tauzin Discusses Drug Industry Image, Reimportation, Other Issues
kaisernetwork.org 2005 May 10;
Full text:
Former Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, on Monday told reporters that pharmaceutical companies have begun to develop voluntary advertising guidelines to help “recapture the trust of the American people,” Reuters/Wall Street Journal reports (Reuters/Wall Street Journal, 5/10). The ad guidelines would encourage pharmaceutical companies to discuss medication safety risks, target the proper patients for specific treatments and recommend that patients discuss medications with their physicians (Henderson, Boston Globe, 5/10). “We saw right away a need for our trade association to be much more active in educating the public on the facts about the process and the truth about the pharmaceutical products in our marketplace,” Tauzin said. He also promoted the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, a program launched earlier this year by the pharmaceutical industry that helps uninsured residents find private and public prescription drug discount programs (CongressDaily, 5/10). In addition, Tauzin said that the pharmaceutical industry supports an independent prescription drug safety office within FDA (Hallam/Dooley Young, Bloomberg/Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/10). Tauzin added that pharmaceutical companies plan to publish the results of clinical trials for more prescription drugs online at clinicalstudyresults.org. The results for trials of 65 medications currently appear on the Web site (Boston Globe, 5/10). However, Tauzin said that PhRMA will continue to lobby against legislation that would legalize prescription drug reimportation from Canada and other nations, allow Medicare to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies for discounts on medications or limit direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads (Congress Daily, 5/10). According to Tauzin, legislation to legalize reimportation could lead to an increased number of counterfeit medications in the U.S. prescription drug supply, and bills to Medicare to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies could lead to price controls (Lightman, Hartford Courant, 5/10). He also called a provision in a bill introduced last month that would require ads for new prescription drugs to include a warning that safety risks remain undetermined for two years after FDA approval a “human rights abuse” (Boston Globe, 5/10).
Reaction
Officials for Consumers Union raised concerns about the effectiveness of voluntary ad guidelines for pharmaceutical companies. “Can we really expect drug makers to voluntarily tell us about possible problems in the ads when they know it will hurt their sales?” Rob Schneider, manager of a Consumers Union project to improve prescription drug safety and prices, said (Reuters/Wall Street Journal, 5/10). Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said, “I don’t see how this industry is going to curry favor with the public as long as prescription drug prices continue to skyrocket.” He said, “The industry appears to be totally unwilling to change its practices,” adding, “There are a lot of bad policies being proposed, and our job is to protect against those bad policies” (Groppe, Indianapolis Star, 5/10). Mollyann Brodie, vice president of public opinion and media research at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said, “People love the product, but they don’t love the companies. They believe the companies are all about profits and greed” (Hartford Courant, 5/10). Rep. Diana Degette (D-Colo.) added, “The public has lost a lot of confidence in drug companies, the FDA and congressional oversight in recent years,” adding, “There needs to be more transparency by all parties in how drugs are brought to market and sold. We must also help make drugs more affordable for Americans”
