Category: Pharmaceuticals

Are drug expiry dates really a myth?

Are drug expiry dates just an industry ploy to keep you buying new bottles of medicine?

/ July 27, 2017

Most Patients Get No Benefit from Most Drugs

Some people are reluctant to take statins because they don't benefit the majority of patients who take them. Actually, most drugs don't benefit most of the patients who take them. Since we have no way of identifying those who will benefit, we are stuck treating the many to benefit the few.

/ July 18, 2017

Sen. Ron Johnson: Holding the bill funding the FDA hostage unless the cruel sham that is right-to-try is added to it

Advocates claim that "right-to-try" laws help terminally patients by allowing them access to experimental drugs before approval, when, in fact, such laws strip legal and regulatory protections from patients using such drugs and their purpose is actually to undermine and weaken the FDA. Now advocates led by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) are making a new push to pass right-to-try by embedding it...

/ July 17, 2017

A closer look at penicillin allergies

While many people believe they may be allergic to penicillin, few actually are. The consequences may be serious.

/ June 15, 2017

When Drugs Cost Too Much

Our ability to develop new drugs is fast outstripping our ability to pay for them; some are exorbitantly expensive and not very effective. Funds are limited, and as a society we need to have a serious discussion about how they are to be allocated.

/ June 6, 2017

A closer look at generic drugs

In the struggle to contain growing healthcare costs, generic drugs have the potential to save millions. What gives us confidence they are equivalent to brand-name drugs?

/ June 1, 2017

Anti-inflammatory drugs and heart attacks: How real are the risks?

A new study provides more evidence that anti-inflammatory drugs like naproxen and ibuprofen cause small but real increases in the risk of heart attacks.

/ May 18, 2017

The cruel sham that is right-to-try raises its ugly head at the federal level again

Ill-advised right-to-try bills are spreading like kudzu through state legislatures. Now federal legislators want to insert right-to-try language into the bill that funds FDA drug approval. Given the support of powerful Republicans like Vice President Mike Pence for right-to-try, is it too late to stop this juggernaut and protect patients?

/ April 17, 2017

Bills remove impediments to ill-advised state “right to try” laws, shield wrongdoers, and hide adverse events

Congressional bills will unleash state "right to try" laws, block terminally ill patients from redress for damages caused by negligent doctors and drug companies, and hide adverse drug events from the public.

/ March 2, 2017

Do anti-inflammatory drugs effectively treat spinal pain?

While anti-inflammatory drugs are commonly used to treat back pain, a new review suggests that they may not provide meaningful benefits to most people.

/ February 9, 2017