Editorial Note: This post is by Ken Spriggs, who wrote the second ever RxISK story - on Azathiopine. This should be revisited in the light of the AbbVie Campaign. The current post is taken from his ongoing blog on Crohn's Disease - a condition that is high on the target list for the makers of biologicals including AbbVie and Humira. Drug side effect ratios explained This is … [Read more...] about Brands Don’t Have Side Effects: crohnsforum.com
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AbbVie: Humira Timeline
Editorial Note: An article in Forbes this week suggested Humira is set to become the biggest selling drug of all time. The timeline below, found by Harriet Rosenberg on the JusticeSeekers' website, covers the timeline of its elevation to the blockbuster Hall of Fame. This post and several to come are part of a sequence outlining how we can all help make Humira a better … [Read more...] about AbbVie: Humira Timeline
Let’s Do The AbbVie Again
The idea of a Boycott is an Irish invention. During the Land Wars in 1880, when Colonel Boycott on behalf of Lord Erne unscrupulously evicted tenants who didn't pay rent following a bad harvest, no one moved in to rent the vacant farms. Everyone refused to talk to Boycott. He was ostracised completely. The tactic worked so well that within months the Times of London was talking … [Read more...] about Let’s Do The AbbVie Again
Reading the RIAT Act
Editorial Note: This is a press release for a potentially important development in medicine. You can access your copy of the RIAT Act here and an assessment of its likely significance here. Restoring invisible and abandoned trials (RIAT) “to correct the scientific record” Sponsors and researchers will be given one year to act before independent scientists begin publishing the … [Read more...] about Reading the RIAT Act
When does Yes mean No
Editorial Note: This is the ninth piece or final third of the final triptych in the Lasagna trilogy of triptychs that started with Not So Bad Pharma and runs through to Marilyn's Curse. Marilyn died of an overdose of barbiturate sleeping pills (Tragedy). A bystander, Lou Lasagna, noted she had been denied access to a sleeping pill that was safe in overdose, the first pill of … [Read more...] about When does Yes mean No
Marilyn’s Curse
Editorial Note: This an unexpected eighth part to the Lasagna Trilogy that started with Not So Bad Pharma and runs through to Witty A: Report to the President. Ondine Ondine was a nymph whose lover swore that his every waking breath was a testimony to his love of her. Finding him unfaithful, she cursed him – should he fall asleep he would stop breathing. Marilyn died of an … [Read more...] about Marilyn’s Curse
Witty A: Report to the President
Editorial Note: This was to be the last in the Lasagna posts that began with Not So Bad Pharma, April Fool in Harlow, The Tragedy of Lou Lasagna, Empire of Humbug: Bad Pharma, Empire of Humbug 2, and Brand Fascism. But the series will continue into Marilyn's Curse and When does Yes Mean No. Faced with questions about the $3 Billion fine imposed on GSK – is it just the cost of … [Read more...] about Witty A: Report to the President
Brand Fascism
Editorial Note: This is the sixth in the Lasagna series of posts that began with Not So Bad Pharma, April Fool in Harlow, Tragedy of Lou Lasagna, Empire of Humbug: Bad Pharma and will continue through to Witty A: Report to the President. Faced with questions about the $3 Billion fine imposed on GSK – Is it just the cost of doing business? Andrew Witty, GSK's CEO, snapped … [Read more...] about Brand Fascism
The Empire of Humbug: Not So Bad Pharma
Editorial Note: This is the fifth is the Lasagna series of posts that began with Not So Bad Pharma, April Fool in Harlow, The Tragedy of Lou Lasagna, Empire of Humbug: Bad Pharma and will continue through to Brand Fascism and Witty A: Report to the President. In 1954 soon after his article with Beecher put the placebo on the map, Lasagna was recruited from Harvard to Hopkins. … [Read more...] about The Empire of Humbug: Not So Bad Pharma
The Empire of Humbug: Bad Pharma
Editorial Note: This is the fourth in the Lasagna series of posts - Not So Bad Pharma, April Fool in Harlow and Tragedy. It will be followed by The Empire of Humbug: Not so Bad Pharma, Brand Fascism & Witty A: Report to President. The first RCT In 1956, two of the creators of the modern RCT, Lou Lasagna and Michael Shepherd, met. The randomization in randomized placebo … [Read more...] about The Empire of Humbug: Bad Pharma