Can't get enough on preemption? Senate hearing, and new report

1. As we've reported, preemption arguments are all the rage these days among pharmaceutical company defendants seeking to avoid liability for deceptive advertising, patients' injuries, and the like. The pharmaceutical industry, always ready to bemoan FDA

Alliance for Retired Americans releases new report on drug industry, "Outrageous Fortune"

Ever wonder how drug companies can rake in billions of dollars while millions of Americans go without (or grossly overpay for) their prescription medications? PAL coalition member Alliance for Retired Americans answers that question in their new repor

Excellent Slate piece on Medical Journals and Drug Company Advertising

Great post up on Slate right now, "Under the Influence? Drug companies, medical journals, and money," by Kent Sepkowitz. In it, Dr. Sepkowitz describes the disclosures that medical journals require their authors to go through regarding any financial rela

Xenical (aka alli) to go by the wayside in Australia?

Recently, we reported that Roche Pharmaceuticals (RHHBY.PK) had lost its court challenge to Australia's ban on Direct to Consumer Advertising of over-the-counter Xenical (alli to us in the U.S., marketed here by GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK)) (Australian Cou

Annie Appleseed Project to Host First Ever Conference

PAL coalition member the Annie Appleseed Project will hold its first ever conference on January 10-11, 2008 in West Palm Beach, Florida. The conference will explore Evidence-based Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) for people with cancer, and pr

NJ Supreme Court rejects Vioxx class action

In an opinion posted today on the website of the New Jersey Courts system, the New Jersey Supreme Court refused to allow a class action lawsuit to go forward against Merck, the maker of the withdrawn arthritis drug Vioxx. The lawsuit, International Unio

Nearly half of pharma executives think off-label promotions are too aggressive

PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) released one of their periodic surveys of perceptions of the pharmaceutical industry, titled “Recapturing the Vision: Restoring Trust in the Pharmaceutical Industry by Translating Expectations into Actions.” The press release

Judge allows First Databank-McKesson drug pricing case to go forward as class action

On August 27, 2007, Judge Patti B. Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued an order allowed the case of New England Carpenters Health Benefits Funds et. al. v. First Databank, Inc., and McKesson (NYSE:MCK) to proceed

Australian Court upholds ban on Xenical advertising (that's alli to us in U.S.)

Back in May, PAL awarded one of our coveted Bitter Pill Awards to GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), for its marketing of alli, an Over-the-Counter version of Xenical, a prescription weight loss drug. In our ‘With Allies Like This, Who Needs Enemas?’ Award, we