Media Has it Out for Pharma …Still

Many would say that the media is no friend to the pharmaceutical industry. However, CNN has recently started to (seemingly) build a case against Avanir Pharmaceuticals for its promotion and marketing of its pseudobulbar affect (PBA) drug, Nuedexta. In October 2017, CNN published its first article on the subject, where it was noted that the company “aggressively targets frail and elderly nursing home residents for whom the drug may be unnecessary or even unsafe.” While PBA afflicts less than 1% of Americans, it is most commonly associated with patients who have multiple sclerosis (MS) or ALS. Then, in December 2017, CNN published another article on the company, once again dinging them for payments made to physicians and alleging that physicians had criminal convictions in their history for illegal prescribing. According to CNN, Nuedexta's financial success is being propelled by a sales force focused on expanding the drug's use among elderly patients suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and high-volume prescribing and advocacy efforts by doctors receiving payments from the company. Avanir Pharmaceuticals paid nearly 500 doctors to speak or consult on its drug, Nuedexta, between 2013 and 2016, according to government data. Through a review of the top prescribers and top paid physicians in this group, CNN identified a dozen who have been disciplined by state medical boards. These offenses included the harmful treatment of nursing home residents and "grossly ne...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs