Clozaril King and AstraZeneca top doc: Reinstein

The story of Dr. Reinstein, one of the top paid doctors of AstraZeneca's Seroquel sales team (paid speaker, lots of rx's written)is the author of the handwritten note in the image here taken from this document where he wrote his earnings down that he was paid by AstraZeneca. Note the "AstraZeneca Canada". I wonder what that is?

Go over to Boring Old Man blog for a great detailed discussion about Reinstein, his photo included!

poem of the week

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost, 1920

musical reprieve from busy days

enjoy this great song, one of my favorites...while i'm finishing up with some important studying! happy holidays!

APA Deputy Medical Director calls for regular medication checks, in case they are not needed

After 6 months evaluate the need for psychiatric meds, says APA Deputy Medical Director


Annelle Primm, M.D.

Damn right!

give thanks

for all we have enjoyed and for all that we will enjoy.

for all of my life, even the hard times.

for the sweet moments that sometimes turn bittersweet.

for memories.

for the future.

America's love affair with pills, here comes a new version of Ambien: Intermezzo for interrupted sleep

Ever wake up at 2 or 3 am and can't get back to sleep? Pharma has a pill for that! forget journaling, blogging or watching the news, reruns or late night tv, just take another PILL. Under the tongue Intermezzo is just another version of Ambien the sleep aid that has a sorted history of people sleep walking or becoming psychiatric side effect victims with aggression and violence... but hey, you need that extra 4 hours of sleep, who cares if you have Ambien Sex or become deranged. You'll feel rested, right?

FDA approved Intermezzo (zolpidem tartrate sublingual tablets) for use as needed to treat insomnia characterized by middle-of-the-night waking followed by difficulty returning to sleep Intermezzo today.

"Like other sleep medicines, Intermezzo may cause serious side effects, including getting out of bed while not fully awake and doing an activity that you do not know you are doing or do not remember having done. Reported activities while under the influence of sleep medicines include driving a car, making and eating food, having sex, talking on the phone, and sleep walking—without knowing at the time or remembering later. Chances of such activity increase if a person has consumed alcohol or taken other medicines that make them sleepy.

Intermezzo is a federally controlled substance because it can be abused or lead to dependence.

Intermezzo is made by Transcept Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Port Richmond, Calif."

Thank you, Pharma. Americans are hooked on easy answers in the form of little pills and you know how to work it!

American Fraud: Part 2 of marketing Risperdal by Scott Bartz

This is part 2 of a series by whistleblower and author, Scott Bartz Marketing Risperdal: Part II

Chemical behavior control: foster kids on antipsychotics in record numbers

"In the study, mental health researchers analyzed 2003 Medicaid records of 637,924 minors from an unidentified mid-Atlantic state who were either in foster care, getting disability benefits for a diagnosis like severe autism or bipolar disorder, or in a program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. All of these programs draw on Medicaid financing. The investigators found that 16,969, or about 3 percent of the total, had received at least one prescription for an antipsychotic drug."

From the NY Times Drugs Used for Psychotics Go to Youths in Foster Care

One doctor says this outrageous statement:

"Dr. Ramesh Raghavan, a mental health services researcher at Washington University in St. Louis. “There’s enormous anguish because everyone knows that this is not what we should be doing for these kids. We as a society simply haven’t made the investment in psychosocial treatments, and so we are forced to rely on psychotropic drugs to carry the burden."

AS doctors, they can take the first step as members of society to stop this drugging of American children, which have turned into state and Federal cash cows, being these kids are housed and in the care of states and on programs funded by the Federal Government. To say there is no recourse but to use dangerous drugs such as antipsychotics on these kids for control of their behaviors because there is no other option is reckless and in my opinion child endangerment.

Seroquel, Abilify, Zyprexa, Risperdal, Geodon carry the burden? that is pharma spin at its finest! Give me a break! at what cost to the children?

Retract PAXIL 329 study and look at the author list, don't forget it

PAXIL 329 in the news again, in various places... for now just read THIS at 1 Boring Old Man blog. How many teens were given SSRIs as a result of the lies of this study? the ignored data that spelled out suicide connections and teens and SSRI's? What if those kids who became suicidal on SSRIs were never given them in the first place, and if this study wasn't published it MIGHT HAVE SAVED LIVES.

Evil, corruption, pharma paid, ghostwritten, and they just walk away and go roost in other places to keep on doing that work...

Kids and parents in Australia may have ADHD drugs forced into their lives

VIA The Australian:

"Medicate ADHD kids or else, parents told

BY: SUE DUNLEVY From: The Australian November 21, 2011


'EXPERTS have warned that parents who don't medicate children with ADHD could be referred to child protection authorities under controversial draft guidelines being considered by the National Health and Medical Research Council.

The practice points, to guide doctors who treat the disorder, were drawn up by an NHMRC expert working group to address community concern over the use of stimulant medication to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They state: "Consideration should be given to the ability of the child/adolescent and their caregivers to implement strategies. As with any medical intervention, the inability of parents to implement strategies may raise child protection concerns."

West Australian Labor MP, author and anti-ADHD medication campaigner Martin Whitely says "the only possible medical interventions are ADHD drugs and the implied threat that a parent's refusal to allow their child to be 'medicated' with amphetamines may see their child put in care"."

Australian Government National Health and Research Council

http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/media/releases/2011/feedback-ensure-better-information-management-adhd-children-and-adolescents

Feedback to ensure better information for the management of ADHD in children and adolescents

Summary media release information

Date:

03 November 2011

Type:

Media Release

Contact for further information:

Claire Pitham 02 6217 9350 or 0422 008 512

Individuals and organisations are invited to review and comment on draft Clinical Practice Points (CPPs) on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents, prepared by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

The NHMRC is committed to providing useful and up to date advice, to assist parents and medical professionals to recognise and appropriately treat ADHD.

The draft ADHD CPPs provide practical guidance for health professionals on the diagnosis, assessment and appropriate management of clinically significant symptoms of inattention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity.

“The CPPs have been developed by experts in the area to ensure that clinicians have reliable information to support their management of children and adolescents with the symptoms of ADHD,” Professor Warwick Anderson, NHMRC Chief Executive Officer said.

“It’s important that families across Australia are confident that their clinicians have the information they need to appropriately review a broad range of signs and symptoms, to limit the inappropriate diagnosis of ADHD.

“ADHD is an important health issue. We need to provide the best possible advice about the management of ADHD as soon as we can.

The draft Clinical Practice Points focus on the ongoing assessment and review by a multidisciplinary team, with input from family and educators to ensure the best possible ongoing management. They also provide advice on the use of stimulant medication as a means of pharmacological management.

The CPPs have been prepared by an expert working group chaired by Professor Bruce Tonge, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and Head of Discipline of Psychiatry at Monash University in Melbourne. Other members of the working group have expertise in psychiatry, clinical psychology, neuro-psychology, paediatric health, family intervention, Indigenous mental health and general practice. This group also included a member who has had personal and family experience with ADHD.

The CPPs are the consensus view of the expert working group on what constitutes good practice. They complement broader evidence-based guidance and can be used in conjunction with existing policies.

The status of draft clinical guidelines on ADHD has been uncertain for too long because of conflict of interest allegations against a leading American researcher in the treatment of ADHD. The development of these CPPs ensures that people affected by ADHD have access to up-to-date, expert advice about ADHD that they can rely on.

Public consultation on the ADHD Clinical Practice Points is open to Monday 28 November. The document and information on how to make a submission can be found at http://consultations.nhmrc.gov.au.

Medical Board of California database: this is not where you want to find your doctor

I've written about Dollars for Docs database before, when I find a doctor who is on Big Pharma's payroll as a paid speaker or consultant. The database is one way keeping accountability, truth and ethics in the discussion when we write or talk about psychiatry, and the doctors who treat patients.

We've read about University of Minnesota's Dr.Charles Schulz and the Dan Markingson Seroquel study suicide scandal.

We've read about Dan Sfera who runs South Coast Clinical Trials. We learned how research clinics get paid from my interview with Dan Sfera from SCCT.

Dr. Johnny Edrozo, MD Psychiatrist

Dr. Edrozo is listed on the SCCT website as being one of the doctors part of that clinical trial research facility.

I asked Dan Sfera about this today, and he said "im proud to say that man hasnt worked with us for over a year. Our website needs some updates."


A reader left a comment on one of my SCCT posts with the link to the California Medical Board searchable database, along with the tip that Dr. Edrozo is in the database.


Dr. Edrozo is being accused of Gross Negligence, incompetence and more. This is regarding his practice as a psychiatrist and with patients and antipsychotics,SSRIs and Anti convulsants. The document has all of the details.

Medical Board of California Public Document Search is a TOOL FOR PATIENTS TO USE to check on their California doctor's background.

Is your doctor in the California Medical Board database with a "behaving badly" document?

Are you?

quote of the day

"And in the end it's not the years in your
life that count. It's the life in your years."

- Abraham Lincoln

3 kiwis a day lower blood pressure according to study

via Reuters India Kiwi tops apple in blood pressure study:

"The eight-week study, led by Mette Svendsen of Oslo University Hospital in Norway, involved 118 subjects with an average age of 55 and mildly high blood pressure.

One group added three kiwis to their daily diet, while the other half added the proverbial apple a day. Kiwis contain lutein, which has antioxidant properties.

After eight weeks, researchers found the kiwi group's 24-hour systolic blood pressure was an average of 3.6 millimeters of mercury lower than that of the apple eaters. Systolic is the top number of the blood pressure reading."

Lundbeck cuts massive $$ deal with Otsuka for psychiatric drugs--Abilify injectable is one of them

Via BioSpace
Lundbeck Inc. Pays Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. $200 Million Upfront in CNS Drug Deal, Complete Deal is Worth $1.8 Billion if Milestones are Met:

"Lundbeck Inc. Pays Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. $200 Million Upfront in CNS Drug Deal, Complete Deal is Worth $1.8 Billion if Milestones are Met


11/11/2011 7:05:13 AM

TOKYO & COPENHAGEN, Denmark--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Otsuka) and H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) today announced that they have entered into a long-term agreement for the development and commercialization of up to five innovative psychiatric and neuroscience products worldwide. Otsuka and Lundbeck signed the historic agreement during a ceremony held at Tokushima City in Tokushima, Japan on November 11, 2011.
SUMMARY OF COLLABORATION AGREEMENT

The agreement covers up to five early and late stage compounds in development. The two late stage compounds are from Otsuka: aripiprazole depot formulation and OPC-34712. Otsuka receives the rights to enter into co-development, and eventual co-promotion following approval, of up to three compounds after Phase IIb clinical trials.

The alliance is a sales and cost share agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Lundbeck will make an upfront payment upon signing of USD 200 million. Otsuka will in total receive up to approximately USD 1.4 billion from Lundbeck as upfront payment and development and regulatory milestone payments. With the addition of sales milestones in connection, Lundbeck will pay up to approximately USD 1.8 billion to Otsuka. Both companies will share the sales and development and commercialization costs based on the agreement.

For aripiprazole depot formulation, Lundbeck will receive 50% of net sales in Europe (EU5 and the 4 Nordic countries) and Canada and 20% of net sales in the U.S. from Otsuka. The cost incurred for the development and promotion will be shared in the same ratio. Otsuka holds the rights in many of the Asian countries including Japan, as well as Turkey and Egypt. For the remaining markets in the Lundbeck territories, Lundbeck will market the compound and Otsuka will supply the bulk product at a price of agreed percentage of the sales.

For OPC-34712, Lundbeck will receive 50% of net sales in Europe (EU5 and the 4 Nordic countries) and Canada and 45% of net sales in the U.S. from Otsuka. The cost incurred for the promotion will be shared in the same ratio. Otsuka holds the rights in many of the Asian countries including Japan, as well as Turkey and Egypt. For the remaining markets in the Lundbeck territories, Lundbeck will market the compound, and Otsuka will supply the bulk product at a price of agreed percentage of the sales. For the development costs of OPC-34712, Otsuka will be responsible up to certain amount and equally share the costs afterwards."

Scott Bartz: Marketing Risperdal Part I: Off-label Sales of Risperdal to Children

Scott Bartz, author of THE TYLENOL MAFIA: Marketing, Murder, and Johnson & Johnson and insider, also writes a blog worth following.

This week he posted a beginning series on Risperdal and use in kids, and how J & J marketed the antipsychotic to kids. That illegal marketing directly impacted my child's life at age 11 in 1999, and I must say it rubs salt in the wounds reading this expose'--but I am glad to see a whistle blower speak out and speak out publicly the way Scott Bartz is doing.


Here's the series post, part 1 titled Marketing Risperdal Part I: Off-label Sales of Risperdal to Children.

Snippet

"This is the first in a series of posts that will delve into Johnson & Johnson’s marketing strategy for its antipsychotic drug, Risperdal. In this post, I present data showing the extensive off-label use of Risperdal in children. In future posts, I’ll describe J&J’s strategy for promoting Risperdal for unapproved uses.

My knowledge about J&J’s marketing of Risperdal comes from Johnson & Johnson’s data and my experience as a former J&J insider. As a sales rep, I sold Risperdal for 3 1/2 years for J&J subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceutica. I then worked at Janssen-Ortho McNeil Pharmaceuticals (JOMP) corporate headquarters for four years, where I was involved in a variety of Risperdal marketing projects.

Risperdal was approved in 1993 for the treatment of acute psychosis in adults with schizophrenia. Risperdal was not approved for use in children until October 2006 ...."

Go read and add Scott's blog to your reading list that goes nicely with the 1 Boring Old Man blog authored by a retired psychiatrist.

Canada: Antipsychotic use in kids increased by 114%, Seroquel rx'd over 160,000 times

via Pharmagossip Number of Canadian kids offered antipsychotics more than doubles:

Risperdal and Seroquel used excessively in kids off-label for behavior control...what a dangerous way to control a kid!


from the article

.."One antipsychotic alone, risperidone, was recommended by Canadian-office-based doctors for children 17 years old and younger a total of 340,670 times in 2010 — a near-doubling since 2006 — according to data provided to Postmedia News from prescription-drug tracking firm IMS Brogan.

Another antipsychotic — quetiapine — was recommended to Canadian children 160,700 times.

The increase in prescriptions for children as young as six is raising concerns that the drugs are being overused. Some experts say too little is known about the effects on a child's cognitive, social and physical development, and that the side effects may set children up for serious health problems later in life.

Overall, from 2005 to 2009, antipsychotic drug recommendations for children and youth in Canada increased 114 per cent, according to new guidelines published in this month's issue of the journal Paediatrics & Child Health on the use of second-generation atypical antipsychotics in children and youth.

The drugs — which have not been approved in Canada for use in children under 18 — are being used for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorders, irritability related to autism, mood disorders, physical or verbal aggression and other behavioural problems."

Good luck with that....

Soldiers and Veterans dying in their sleep:BILLIONS spent on the off-label use of antipsychotics Seroquel & Risperdal

VIA Seroquel Lawsuit blog Hundreds of Soldiers & Vets Dying From AstraZeneca Antipsychotic--Seroquel

"From 2001 to the present, US Central Command has given deploying troops 180 day supplies of prescription psychotropic drugs—Seroquel included. In a May 2010 report of its Pain Management Task Force, the Army endorsed Seroquel in 25- or 50-milligram doses as a 'sleep aid.'

Over the past decade, $717 million was spent for Risperdal and $846 million for Seroquel, for a mind-blowing total of $1.5 billion when neither Risperdal nor Seroquel have been proven safe or effective for PTSD or sleep disorders.


Ironically, yet not surprisingly, pay-to-play in Washington becomes more egregious every day. Heather Bresch, daughter of U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, (D-WV) was recently named CEO of WV drug-maker Mylan Inc., that recently contracted with the DoD for over 20 million doses of Seroquel.

Defense Department Health Advisory Group chair, Charles Fogelman, warned: "DoD currently lacks a unified pharmacy database that reflects medication use across pre-deployment, deployment and post-deployment settings." In essence, through a premeditated lack of record keeping, mandated by law at any other pharmacy or medical office to track potential fatal reactions to mixing prescription drugs, the military is willfully preempting all investigations into the injuries and deaths due to psychiatric drugs."

More at Seroquel Lawsuit Blog

The 20 yr old college student death from Zyprexa update: Big Pharma hits and runs

Lilly won the court case against the innocent victim, what's new? it's business as usual while patients are killed, injured and used for marketing props for companies such as Lilly, the makers of the antipsychotic Zyprexa that has a box warning for diabetes, and more. The drug caused 100+ weight gain in my daughter, and the drug is still being used and prescribed all these years later, even after the Zyprexa documents are available online at www.furiousseasons.com --it amazes me the risk people have to take when offered meds by doctors who may not have truly given real informed consent. 20 years old and dead.


Here's the update from Bloomberg Lilly Not Responsible for Zyprexa User’s Death, Jury Finds apparently, the jury was bound to only listen to certain information, because if they read the Viva! Zyprexa marketing campaign and other internal documents, they'd have thought twice about siding with a greedy, corrupt, make money at any cost pharma company.

20 yr old college student dies from antipsychotic Zyprexa says lawyer

Via Bloomberg Lilly Hid Zyprexa’s Diabetes Risks, Student Died, Lawyer Argues:

"Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Eli Lilly & Co. didn’t properly warn a patient who took its Zyprexa antipsychotic medication of diabetes risks and the young man died, a lawyer for his family told a jury in the first case to go to trial over the drug.

Cody Tadai, a 20-year-old college student, took Zyprexa to battle mental illness without either him, or his doctor, being properly advised about the drug’s link to diabetes, Ronald Makarem, a Los Angeles-based lawyer, said in closing arguments in the trial of a lawsuit filed by members of Tadai’s family. They contend the student died of diabetes-related ailments in March 2007 and that the drugmaker put profits ahead of the safety of Zyprexa users.

“They chose money over safety,” Makarem told jurors in state court in Los Angeles yesterday. A verdict on behalf of Tadai’s family would remind Lilly executives to ensure “safety comes first and money second,” he added.

Indianapolis-based Lilly, which lost patent protection on Zyprexa last month, has paid out about $2.9 billion to resolve government and individual claims over its marketing of the antipsychotic drug.

Lilly agreed in 2009 to pay $1.42 billion to settle federal prosecutors’ allegations that it illegally marketed Zyprexa for unapproved uses. The drugmaker also agreed to pay more than $260 million to resolve similar state claims. The company also has agreed to pay more than $1.2 billion to settle about 31,000 suits by former users of the drug."

Ex Drug Rep Gwen Olsen: Manipulating Doctors

Gwen Olsen, former pharma rep speaks out

Talks about 15 years of being a pharma rep, marketing tools and what they were legally allowed to say as a rep about the drug, the revisions that would happen to the charts they used to sell the products to doctors when needed, by the marketing department... etc. worth listening to her speak her mind....

Another day, another billion(s) dollar fine for pharma: GSK $3 billion for marketing of Avandia and Wellbutrin

From the Guardian:

"British drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to pay $3bn (£1.9bn) to settle a series of criminal and civil investigations by the US authorities into the sales and marketing of some of its best-known products.

Among the cases the payment will settle are a US justice department probe into the marketing of diabetes drug Avandia, which has been linked to heart attack risks. Avandia was withdrawn from the European market last year and sales were limited in the US.

The agreement also covers GSK's alleged attempts to market Wellbutrin, an antidepressant, as a slimming aid. US authorities were also investigating allegations that GSK defrauded the state-run Medicaid health programme.

The deal is the latest in a string of large settlements the US government has struck with drug companies. German firm Merck, US-based Abbott Laboratories and Switzerland's Serono have all recently settled cases brought by the justice department."

I wonder how those litigants are being treated in their payouts for drug injuries? will they receive lowball settlements the same as the AstraZeneca Seroquel lawsuit claimants?. It's just incredible how much these companies incorporate these million and billion dollar fines into their business as usual plans. They keep on doing business, and the injured remain voiceless and faceless victims in a world of greed and corruption.

AND, this from Alison Bass:

Allegations of fraud and extensive ghostwriting form core of upcoming Texas case against Johnson & Johnson

her entire article here:

Allegations of fraud and extensive ghostwriting form core of upcoming Texas case against Johnson & Johnson

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Alison Bass

On November 28, the Texas Attorney General is expected to begin a landmark trial against Johnson & Johnson on charges that the pharmaceutical giant “subverted scientific integrity” by paying off academic psychiatrists and state officials to boost the use of its atypical antipsychotic Risperdal among children and adults in that state. The case against J&J, for misleading doctors and consumers about the safety and effectiveness of its atypical antipsychotic Risperdal, has been reported before — by 1boringoldman, pharmalot and several Texas newspapers.

#Occupyintegrity