I tried to find an audio file of the ad for you to listen to here, but gave up, they are only intended for me, remember? I did find this though, from a GSK press release:
GSK's "Scientist" ad features Dr. Eliot Ohlstein, head of the company's Center of Excellence for Drug Discovery, Cardiovascular & Urogenital Diseases. Dr. Ohlstein speaks of the challenges and rewards of a career in pharmaceutical research. The message of the ad is that discovery of breakthrough medicines is expensive, but the results are priceless. The ad concludes: "Today's medicines finance tomorrow's miracles."
I think this is the ad they've been torturing me with. If it's the one I'm thinking of, the good Dr. Ohlstein (did they put the quotes around "scientist" to distinguish the ad or because he's not really a scientist? Perhaps his PhD is in history. I wouldn't put it past them.)Talks about how discovering an antibiotic is like "catching an individual snowflake", the process can take 10 years, as soon as one comes to market resistance starts in, blah blah blah.....but GSK will never give up because the fight is too important. I really wish I would have found an audio file for you. It would have warmed your fucking heart.
Until you see what their business practices are really like. Let's take a look at GSK's top selling drugs and see just how many snowflakes they've caught in their never ending quest shall we?
1) Advair: an inhaler used for asthma. A combination of two meds that were already on the market, one of which was about ready to lose it's patent protection.
2) Avandamet: A combination of two previously available diabetes medicines, one of which is about ready to lose it's patent protection.
3)Paxil CR: This is my favorite. The "CR" stands for "controlled release" Drug companies have long come out with "controlled release", "extended release", "sustained release" versions of their products when they are about ready to lose their patient protection. The idea being you take a dose fewer times a day and therefore will be less likely to miss doses. Oh, and they get a brand new patent for the "CR" "XR" or "SR" version.
Except that regular Paxil is dosed once a day, and Paxil CR is dosed........once a day. So WTF?? I'll let the Pharmacists Letter explain it:
The new tabs AREN'T longer-acting...they're once-daily like Paxil. Instead, Paxil CR is designed to cause fewer GI side effects. It's enteric-coated and controlled-release so the drug is released lower in the intestines. The manufacturer wants to say Paxil CR causes less nausea than Paxil...but so far there's no proof that it's better tolerated.
You got that? GSK pulls a claim out of their ass, sends their sales force to go pull the wool over your doctors eyes and charges you an extra $49 a month. (price difference from drugstore.com)
I could go on....Wellbutrin XL (which followed Wellbutrin SR), Augmentin XR, a product that actually INCREASED the chance of GI upset over regular Augmentin, but you get the picture. It seems like the results of the majority of GSK's research goes towards ways to extend the patent lives of their products. Oh, but they can't even rip you off without fucking it up. From the New York Times:
US Marshals Seize Millions of Defective Paxil & Avandamet pills
The FDA and federal marshals yanked millions of tablets of the antidepressant, Paxil CR and the diabetes drug, Avandamet, off the market because they are defective. The Paxil pills split during manufacturing, and the medication in Avandamet is not evenly distributed. GlaxoSmithKline has not resolved these manufacturing issues for three years.
Priceless indeed....
1 comment:
you forgot to mention that you will have to sell your sole to afford the advair diskus. haha....150 bucks a month.
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