Pharma and Advertising

*The following is an excerpt from an article “The Medicating of America,” published in Living Safer Magazine and The Legal Examiner.

Top 10 National TV Pharmaceutical Advertisers

 

Ad Spend                            Drug                      Treatment for                                   Manufacturer

 

$189 million                        Xeljanz                 Rheumatoid Arthritis                      Pfizer

$185 million                        Trulicity Type 2 Diabetes                                              Eli Lilly

$174 million                        Lyrica                     Fibromyalgia Pain                          Pfizer

$170 million                        Opdivo                 Various Cancers                                Bristol-Myers Squibb

$170 million                        Lyrica                     Diabetes Nerve Pain                       Pfizer

$154 million                        Breo Ellipta         COPD/Bronchitis                              GlzxoSmithKline

$144 million                        Chantix Smoking Cessation                                           Pfizer

$141 million                        Eliquis                   Erectile Dysfunction                        Pfizer & Bristol-Myers Squibb

$133 million                        Cialis                      Erectile Dysfunction                        Eli Lilly

$132 million                        Viagra                   Erectile Dysfunction                         Pfizer

 

Source: 2017 Nielsen study

 

The History of ClinicalTrials.gov

A registry of clinical trial results, ClinicalTrials.gov is the world’s largest database of its kind—containing study results from over 230,000 trials from more than 195 countries.

 

1988 – Congress passed the Health Omnibus Programs Extension Act (HOPE) after the gay community demands better access to clinical trials testing HIV treatment drugs. This served as an example of the positive gains that can be made with improved public access to such information.

 

1997 – Congress amends current legislation with the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 (FDAMA) which requires the NIH to establish a new public resource of such information, to become known as ClinicalTrials.gov.

 

2014 – A study of pre-2009 trials found that many had serious discrepancies between what was published in peer-reviewed journals and what was reported to ClinicalTrials.gov.

 

 “When do you cross the line from essential profits to profiteering?”

 

Escalating Drug Prices

 

Daraprim

5500% increase

An anti-parasitic drug made by Turing Pharmaceuticals that in 2015, increased from $13.50 a pill to $750 a pill.

 

Naloxone

600% increase

Emergency injector for those who overdose on opioid painkillers. Manufactured by Kaleo Pharma under the name Evzio which has gone from $690 per unit to $4,500 in last few years.

 

Nitroprusside

525% increase

Used to treat cardiovascular patients. Manufactured solely by Valeant Pharmaceuticals under the name Nitropress and jumped from $150 per unit to $790 per unit in 2015.

 

EpiPen

500% increase

Anti-allergic reaction drug that raised its price more than 500 percent over 7 years. Made by Mylan Pharmaceuticals.

 

 

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