I mean, Pfizer wouldn't lie. It's like the first thing you see on their web page.
At Pfizer, we're inspired by a single goal: your health.
Keep their inspiration in mind while I tell you a story.
Many people believe that in healthcare, new automatically equals better. Even many in the professions work off that assumption. Thing is, no one, anywhere, has ever claimed that, and in reality, new just means better than a placebo. That's the standard a new drug has to meet in order to be let on the market. If Old Maid Drug is 90% more effective than a placebo, and Young Sexy Drug is 30% better, the FDA is required by law to approve Young, Sexy, Inferior Drug. Guess which one Big Pharma will be promoting though?
And in most cases we would never even know that Old Hag Drug is 60% better than Young Sexy Drug. Because the incentive for Big Pharma is to stop its studies the very second YSD is shown to be *any* better than a sugar pill, and start buying new low-cut dresses for its sales staff in anticipation of YSD's immediate approval.
Bottom Line: we usually don't have nearly enough information to know just how effective a new drug is, or how it measures up against what's already on the market. We only know that it's better than nothing.
Someone in the bowels of the scientific bureaucracy in the federal government, namely, The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, had an idea to change that, or at least change a little part of that. The feds organized a huge clinical trial to rate and compare treatments for hypertension, how effective they were at preventing heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular problems, you know, the whole point of putting someone on a hypertension medicine in the first place. Everything from old-school diuretics to medium-school calcium channel blockers to new school ACE inhibitors were gonna get a look at. Even alpha blockers.
"Alpha blockers, WTF?" Some of you young whipper snappers might be saying. "Who takes alpha blockers for high blood pressure?" Well this old man's here to tell you there was a time when people did. A biggie back in the day was Pfizer's Cardura. Nice name. Makes it sound like it's gonna make your heart all durable and stuff. I bet someone was really proud of themselves for thinking up that name.
From the New York Times Article describing the federal hypertension med study, named Allhat:
"We're so inspired by our single goal, your health, that we didn't think twice about kicking in an extra $20 million to promote our single goal, your health" A Pfizer spokesman never said.
Now everyone out there who thinks that this disastrous clinical data immediately led Pfizer, who says they are inspired by a single goal, your health, to stop promoting Cardura for hypertension raise your hand.
Ok, everyone with your hand up, I've been hammering away at this blog for going on 4 years now. Have I taught you nothing?
Asked for comment, a Pfizer spokesman didn't say, "Ummmmmmmmmm.......well......have you heard about Viagra? It makes your Willie hard and stiff!!"
Sales of Cardura held up through 2000, when it lost its patent and became an old hag, making it no longer profitable for Pfizer to send doctors to go do things like get drunk in the French Quarter so they wouldn't see actual science at scientific conferences.
Not an old hag like chlorthalidone though, the oldest of the old school hags in the Allhat study, which was also the most effective med in preventing heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure combined. Good luck getting someone besides me to tell you that though. Use of meds like chlorthalidone rose a paltry 5% after the study.
Maybe I should get me a low-cut dress or two.
At Pfizer, we're inspired by a single goal: your health.
Keep their inspiration in mind while I tell you a story.
Many people believe that in healthcare, new automatically equals better. Even many in the professions work off that assumption. Thing is, no one, anywhere, has ever claimed that, and in reality, new just means better than a placebo. That's the standard a new drug has to meet in order to be let on the market. If Old Maid Drug is 90% more effective than a placebo, and Young Sexy Drug is 30% better, the FDA is required by law to approve Young, Sexy, Inferior Drug. Guess which one Big Pharma will be promoting though?
And in most cases we would never even know that Old Hag Drug is 60% better than Young Sexy Drug. Because the incentive for Big Pharma is to stop its studies the very second YSD is shown to be *any* better than a sugar pill, and start buying new low-cut dresses for its sales staff in anticipation of YSD's immediate approval.
Bottom Line: we usually don't have nearly enough information to know just how effective a new drug is, or how it measures up against what's already on the market. We only know that it's better than nothing.
Someone in the bowels of the scientific bureaucracy in the federal government, namely, The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, had an idea to change that, or at least change a little part of that. The feds organized a huge clinical trial to rate and compare treatments for hypertension, how effective they were at preventing heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular problems, you know, the whole point of putting someone on a hypertension medicine in the first place. Everything from old-school diuretics to medium-school calcium channel blockers to new school ACE inhibitors were gonna get a look at. Even alpha blockers.
"Alpha blockers, WTF?" Some of you young whipper snappers might be saying. "Who takes alpha blockers for high blood pressure?" Well this old man's here to tell you there was a time when people did. A biggie back in the day was Pfizer's Cardura. Nice name. Makes it sound like it's gonna make your heart all durable and stuff. I bet someone was really proud of themselves for thinking up that name.
From the New York Times Article describing the federal hypertension med study, named Allhat:
Cardura was added only after Pfizer, which had already agreed to contribute $20 million to the trial’s costs, increased that to $40 million, Dr. Cutler said.
"We're so inspired by our single goal, your health, that we didn't think twice about kicking in an extra $20 million to promote our single goal, your health" A Pfizer spokesman never said.
Pfizer’s bet on Cardura proved a big mistake. As the Allhat data came in, patients taking Cardura were nearly twice as likely as those receiving the diuretic to require hospitalization for heart failure, a condition in which the heart cannot pump blood adequately. Concerned, the Heart, Lung and Blood Institute announced in March 2000 that it had stopped the Cardura part of the trial.
Now everyone out there who thinks that this disastrous clinical data immediately led Pfizer, who says they are inspired by a single goal, your health, to stop promoting Cardura for hypertension raise your hand.
Ok, everyone with your hand up, I've been hammering away at this blog for going on 4 years now. Have I taught you nothing?
Rather than warn doctors that Cardura might not be suited for hypertension, Pfizer circulated a memo to its sales representatives suggesting scripted responses they could use to reassure doctors that Cardura was safe, according to documents released from a patients’ lawsuit against the company.
And in an e-mail message unearthed in those same court documents, a Pfizer sales executive boasted to colleagues that company employees had diverted some European doctors attending an American cardiology conference from hearing a presentation on the Allhat results and Cardura. “The good news,” the message said, “is that they were quite brilliant in sending their key physicians to sightsee rather than hear Curt Furberg slam Pfizer once again!”
Asked for comment, a Pfizer spokesman didn't say, "Ummmmmmmmmm.......well......have you heard about Viagra? It makes your Willie hard and stiff!!"
Sales of Cardura held up through 2000, when it lost its patent and became an old hag, making it no longer profitable for Pfizer to send doctors to go do things like get drunk in the French Quarter so they wouldn't see actual science at scientific conferences.
Not an old hag like chlorthalidone though, the oldest of the old school hags in the Allhat study, which was also the most effective med in preventing heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure combined. Good luck getting someone besides me to tell you that though. Use of meds like chlorthalidone rose a paltry 5% after the study.
Maybe I should get me a low-cut dress or two.
5 comments:
I was waiting for your fake news story once I read this in the Times the other day. Good stuff. Just add it to the pile.....
Maybe a low-cut dress or two wouldn't result in a predictable nor desired response...just keep at it, maybe we'll be able to consistently get the word out. I remember doing an orthopedic surgery rotation when Vioxx and Bextra were still big sellers. Pain control was the major part of the practice before the patient was accepting with advice for knee or hip replacement, so I devised a little chart from F & C to explain which one to avoid if previous heart disease and which NSAIDs if renal, GERD, etc. and the doc was really interested and appreciative, even as the place was crawling with samples. He had something to help assess the situation since his 'scope' or 'expertise' was limited when patients came to him on their own for him to take care of joint pain.
I will pay to see you in a low cut dress.
One question. Wrap, drop-waist, or sheath?
As I know you have the best interests of the profession and professionalism at heart, I trust there will be no DrugMonkey-in-low-cut-dress escapades.
Just came to comment that I'm a migraine sufferer-- classic migrane with aura. And the best drug I've ever found for me, after trying the fancy expensive stuff including the one that makes me feel like I'm having a heart attack, is good 'ol "Excedrin for Migraines." Beautiful drug, and cheap. Why don't more doctors suggest this?
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