Jarvik Falters in His Own Defense

While all of us bloggers were either blasting or defending Dr. Robert Jarvik for promoting Lipitor as an unlicensed "doctor," he appeared on the...

Vytorin and Zetia Are Dead in the Water

Physicians have virtually stopped writing new prescriptions (NWRx's) for Vytorin and Zetia since the bad news about the ENHANCE trial became public. This is...

New Vytorin TV Ads Are in the Works – IMHO

According to an AP report, Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. have suspended TV ads for Vytorin a week after a study revealed the...

Sleep Aid Drug Print Ad Triptych

I found the following 3 full-page ads for sleep medications in the January 28 issue of Time Magazine (click for an enlarged view):I think...

Different Views of Pharma and its Critics

Last week, I posted this view of the pharmaceutical industry vs. its critics over at Pharma Blogosphere:I called it "Rope-a-Dope-a-Pharma" primarily because I thought...

Consumer Reports Rip Rozerem Ad — A New One!

Consumer Reports has just posted the second in its series of CR AdWatch videos that add commentary and context to widely seen pharmaceutical advertisements....

The Statin Lottery: Number Needed to Treat Statistic

Suppose I invited you to join this contest:250 people are recruited to participate in the contest. Each person gives me $1,000 and after 1...

Duluth Bans Tchotchkes — That’s Snot Funny!

According to a report in the The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, a Duluth-based health system is declaring a ban on drug-logo freebies, no matter how small....

FDA Won’t be Previewing TV DTC Ads!

The FDA has announced in the Federal Register that it was canceling its program to preview broadcast DTC ads submitted to it by the...

My Cardiologist is on Vacation – “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not...

It's been nearly 48 hours since I called my cardiologist's office to ask him about Zetia, which he prescribed to me long before the...