Pharmaceutical Patient Assistance Programs Expand throughout the World
Over the last few months, several pharmaceutical companies have announced new donations and programs regarding vaccines, as well as increasing access to medicines for important diseases. Below is a summary of some of these activities and we will try to update the story as we come across other announcements.
GlaxoSmithKline
In late July, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced that it would increase its commitment to the GAVI Alliance to provide vaccines to developing countries, helping to protect millions more children against infectious diseases. Under this new agreement, GSK will provide an additional 240 million doses ...
Source: Policy and Medicine - September 6, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
These Weird New Tricks Are Being Used to Vaccinate Your Child
Conclusion
Let’s face it – vaccinations are big business. Wherever we go or whatever we do, the pharmaceutical industries have arrived there first with their vaccination propaganda. Whether we believe in vaccination or not, the majority of us would likely agree that vaccinations are probably the most advertised commodity on our planet.
Year in and year out we are faced with ads for the flu vaccine, the HPV vaccine and the MMR. Ads appear on billboards, in our stores, in magazines and at the movies. The pharmaceutical industries and our governments have even stooped to an all-time low by peddling their wares to ...
Source: vactruth.com - September 2, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Christina England Tags: Christina England Top Stories Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Merck Vaccine Marketing Source Type: blogs
Rerun: Happy 2nd birthday to the Health Business Blog
The Health Business Blog is on vacation this week and re-running some classic posts. This one is from March 2007, the second birthday of the Health Business Blog.
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The Health Business Blog is two years old now, with over 1100 posts and counting. For the first birthday I picked out a favorite post from each month. I’ve decided to make it a tradition.
March 2006: “Unsales” unconvincing
Some health plans are “counter-detailing,” sending reps to physician offices to encourage the use of generics and –even better from the health plan perspective –OTC products. The idea has some merit, but it’s ...
Source: Health Business Blog - August 19, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: dewe67 Tags: Announcements Blogs Source Type: blogs
Congress Must Clarify FDA Authority Over Compounders: GAO
As Congress gears up to consider controversial legislation for overseeing compounding pharmacies, a new report from the Government Accountability Office largely confirms the stance taken by the FDA – that the authority of the agency to regulate these businesses is unclear due to different court rulings and differing views about pharmacies that sell large quantities of compounded drugs over state lines.
The GAO, in particular, reiterated concerns raised earlier by FDA officials that not only have federal court rulings resulted in a patchwork approach to oversight across the US, but sometimes, the agency has had to obtain ...
Source: Pharmalot - August 1, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: esilverman Source Type: blogs
The Quacktitioner Royal is a threat to constitutional government and to the health of the nation
This article has appeared, in nearly identical form, on the UK Conversation . You can leave comments there or here.
The modern major-general
A constitutional monarch is purely ceremonial and plays no part in politics. Well actually in the UK it isn’t quite as simple as that. The first problem is that we have no constitution. Things haven’t changed much since the 19th century when Walter Bagehot said "the Sovereign has, under a constitutional monarchy… three rights—the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, the right to warn."
These are not inconsiderable power...
Source: DC's goodscience - July 30, 2013 Category: Professors and Educators Authors: David Colquhoun Tags: British Chiropractic Association CAM College of Medicine craniosacral Department of Health General Chiropractic Council herbal medicine herbalism homeopathy HRH Michael Pittilo Prince Charles Prince of Wales Prince's Foundation Source Type: blogs
Pharmacists Group Lobbies Against Senate Compounding Bill
Yet another professional organization has found reason to object to the compounding bill moving through the US Senate. The latest group hoping to block its passage is the National Community Pharmacists Association, which claims the proposed legislation is “anti-pharmacy” and is relying on a parliamentary maneuver that may stifle further debate.
Specifically, the NCPA objects to provisions that require individual pharmacies to report directly to the FDA when compounding a drug that is in short supply; allows the FDA to establish a ‘do not compound’ list and exempts hospital pharmacies from these requirements. The gr...
Source: Pharmalot - July 29, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: esilverman Source Type: blogs
International Day of Peace Manipulated to Promote Vaccinations in Developing Countries
Conclusion
I have demonstrated three stories from around the world, reporting on children either dying or suffering from severe adverse reactions after they have received vaccinations included the vaccination schedule. Yet despite the many continuing stories such as these, governments from around the world, hand-in-hand with medical agencies, continue to line up small children to vaccinate them with dangerous, pre-licensed vaccines.
While they do this, they allow organizations like Peace One Day to use International Day of Peace as an excuse to promote these vaccinations, over world peace. In my opinion the exploitation of...
Source: vactruth.com - July 27, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Christina England Tags: Christina England Top Stories Adverse Events International Day of Peace propaganda Vaccine Death Source Type: blogs
Pharmalot... Pharmalittle... Good Morning
Hello, everyone, and nice to see you again, especially after protracted technical problems that disrupted service yesterday. We apologize for the snafu and look forward to resuming the usual menu of interesting items today. Toward that end, we are brewing our mandatory cup of stimulation and have assembled a few tidbits below. So please dig in. Meanwhile, we hope your day is productive and rewarding. And as always, do stay in touch. We like to hear about fascinating developments...
Chinese Hospital Staff Punished For Kickbacks (Bloomberg News)
Aurobindo Employees Protest At Government Office (The Hindu)
New Roche Leukemia ...
Source: Pharmalot - July 24, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: esilverman Source Type: blogs
How To Avoid Making FDA Inspectors Suspicious Or Angry
Over the past few years, the FDA has increased efforts to inspect manufacturing facilities. Some of the biggest drugmakers have encountered visits from inspectors at various sites; compound pharmacies are under heightened scrutiny after the fungal meningitis outbreak and inspection staff is being bolstered to improve oversight at foreign plants, such as in Asia (back stories here, here and here).
But what happens when there is pushback? You know, a drugmaker hems and haws at making facilities or documents available, or the drugmaker prevents an inspector from accessing certain rooms or the premises altogether. In regulator...
Source: Pharmalot - July 16, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: esilverman Source Type: blogs
A Mission to One of the Most Devastated Places in the World
By Josh Skaggs, MD
I went on a medical mission to East Africa’s South Sudan this past January and February. The country is one of the most undeveloped, isolated, and devastated places in the world, and it was an amazing experience even though being there was incredibly tough.
South Sudan and Sudan used to be under the control of Egypt, and were overseen by Great Britain. Great Britain withdrew from Sudan, its former colony, in 1956. Sudan had two regions at that time, the Arab north and the tribal south. War broke out after the northern Sudanese government began killing all non-Arabs in the south who would not “c...
Source: Going Global - July 15, 2013 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
A Mission to One of the Most Devastated Places in the World
By Josh Skaggs, MD
I went on a medical mission to East Africa’s South Sudan this past January and February. The country is one of the most undeveloped, isolated, and devastated places in the world, and it was an amazing experience even though being there was incredibly tough.
South Sudan and Sudan used to be under the control of Egypt, and were overseen by Great Britain. Great Britain withdrew from Sudan, its former colony, in 1956. Sudan had two regions at that time, the Arab north and the tribal south. War broke out after the northern Sudanese government began killing all non-Arabs in the south who would not ...
Source: Going Global - July 15, 2013 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Family Sues After Dangerous Flu Vaccine Causes Child to Become Severely Brain Damaged
Conclusion
After reading realms of information about the flu shot and the many tragic cases of vaccine-injured children, including the sad case of Saba Button, in my opinion, a child is far more likely to suffer serious side effects from the flu vaccine than from the flu itself.
However, despite the many children who have become seriously ill after various flu vaccines, the governments around the world continue to portray the flu vaccine as safe and effective.
Many flu vaccines still contain thimerosal, an ingredient that is said to have been removed from vaccines from as far back as 2007. [9] Since that time, this dangero...
Source: vactruth.com - July 9, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Christina England Tags: Christina England Top Stories Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Afluria Brain Damage Centers for Disease Control (CDC) CSL Fluvax Thimerosal Vaccine Side Effects Source Type: blogs
Summertime Good Reads in Psychology & Mental Health
When other than summer is downtime spent with a good book better known?
Some recent chart-topping and noteworthy titles in psychology, self-development, consciousness, the brain and mental illness follow.
Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly deals with a topic close to my own heart — the intertwining of courage and vulnerability, and how this plays out in relationships and leadership.
Here’s one for contemplation: Waking Up in Heaven by Crystal McVea and Alex Tresniowski details travails of nine minutes of unconsciousness.
Similar? You decide: Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterl...
Source: World of Psychology - July 7, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Lisa A. Miles Tags: Books General Mental Health and Wellness Psychology Alex Tresniowski Bacterial Meningitis Belle Fontaine Bestseller Lists Bill Nye The Science Guy Bill Pennington Book Reviewer Brene Dalai Lama Dr Alexander Dr Phil Dr Phil Mc Source Type: blogs
Gouging contd. - How to make a $300 drug cost $30,000 by Jane M. Orient
As though double-digit increases in insurance premiums weren’t enough, how about triple-digit cost inflation for drugs? It is really simple to do, and the U.S. Senate is about to do it.
If you’re a drug manufacturer, and you’d like to make 100 times more than a person would otherwise have to pay for a drug, get Congress to expand the tremendous power of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), perhaps already the most powerful anti-competitive force on the planet.
The proposed bill is S. 959, the Pharmaceutical Compounding Quality and Accountability Act, also known as the “FDA&nbs...
Source: PharmaGossip - July 7, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Bacteria in our brains
Microbial communities are found at many different sites on the human body, including nasal passages, oral cavities, skin, gastrointestinal tract, and urogenital tract. These commensal microbes shape the immune and metabolic status of the host and play important roles in human health and disease. The brain is one organ that has been assumed to be sterile in the healthy host, but this is probably not true – apparently we have bacteria in our brains!
This remarkable observation came about as part of a study to determine if AIDS, a disease known to damage the blood-brain barrier, might lead to the presence of bacteria in...
Source: virology blog - June 28, 2013 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information This Week in Microbiology alpha-proteobacteria brain microbiome viral virus Source Type: blogs
