The 5 Best-Selling Medications of 2013

[Igor_Passau]

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/08/05/the-5-best-selling-medications-of-2013.aspx

 

[Mary:)]

Wow Humira is number 1...thanks for sharing this.

 

[kiny]

The humongous profits from Humira and Infliximab explain why there hasn't been an alternative to them on the market for 14 years.

Janssens asked for a patent extension to 2015 and got it.

Patents hold back the biosimilars. Companies hold back development of other drugs, why would they make new ones. And doctors refuse to try other medication because most GI are affiliated with the drug companies on some level, representative or they get "study fees", which is a fancy word for bribes.

That judge that agreed to let Janssens get another year extension on Infliximab patents set back research into safer drugs a year back also.

 

[Beach]

Saw this article on Humira, on Dr. David Healy's sight. It has a mention about a possible side effect of skin cancer, and light exposure.

Additionally it mentions the marketing used to promote Humira, in part possibly explaining why it is a top seller.

"Welcome to the Humiraverse"

http://davidhealy.org/welcome-to-the-humiraverse/

 

[Clash]

I thought abbot laboratories was the maker of Humira? I recently saw an article where three counties or possibly states, can't remember specifics, won a suit against Abbott laboratories because the were advertising the use of depakote for elderly patients for some reason or another. Anyway, the FDA hadn't approved depakote for the use of depakote as it was being advertised. I would post the link but I'm on my mobile and it doesn't always like to obey my commands, haha.

 

[Clash]

Here is the link, hope it works:

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/20...lion-to-settle-depakote-marketing-claims.html

 

[Beach]

I thought abbot laboratories was the maker of Humira? I recently saw an article where three counties or possibly states, can't remember specifics, won a suit against Abbott laboratories because the were advertising the use of depakote for elderly patients for some reason or another. Anyway, the FDA hadn't approved depakote for the use of depakote as it was being advertised. I would post the link but I'm on my mobile and it doesn't always like to obey my commands, haha.

I guess I do remember hearing of a pharmaceutical being penalized for shading marketing practices. Didn't realize it was Abbot labs. The company AbbVie seems to be the spin off company from Abbot. They now handle the prescription medication side of the business - I believe.

 

[rygon]

The problem is, there is an increase in risk of cancer in crohns, especially if not controlled http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2700422/

I understand they need to protect their drugs, as the amount it costs not only for research of finding a drug that works (think of all the drugs theyve tried that dont), but the money needed to get it approved is astronomical.

Remember that these profits will be used to put money back into research. I know with my company (in the power industry) at least 50% goes back in to new acquisitions and technology, without this the company would would be able to survive

 

[DustyKat]

It surely is a double edged sword as Rygon has pointed out. There is indeed a risk of cancer from these drugs, including the next class down, immunosuppressives, albeit a small one. But ineffectively treated inflammation over long periods of time also increases your chances of developing cancer. Then there is the risk of developing life threatening complications, again if inflammation is left untreated or under treated.

As a parent I don't think there is any harder decision in this world that to have to make the choice of what treatment you will expose your child to. For the majority of parent's on this forum we have faced the onset of Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis in its moderate-severe form. Time is our enemy and decisions have to be made swiftly. I have seen what untreated Crohn's has the potential to do, my daughter was undiagnosed for 18 months and we came within a whiskers breadth of losing her to a ruptured bowel. Of course this is at the extreme end of things but after the surgery and diagnosis I would have taken any medication on offer and given it to her to ever avoid that happening again. I guess what I am saying here is that no one 'likes' these drugs but depending upon the perspective from which you are coming your 'willingness' and 'acceptance' can vary widely.

Now on a different note...just imagine how deliriously happy these drugs company would be if they had open slather on the countries with universal health! :lol:

Dusty.

 

[Beach]

That was interesting to read on Dr. Healy's on how difficult in EU countries, and with mention on Oz, drug firms can make it difficult to report an adverse reaction. Not good to see. I believe I've read similar happens here in the US. Hopfully the issue can be improved in the future. Maybe the grass roots effort will be helpful.

No doubt the drugs are helpful and needed for many. Hopfully with some sunlight on the problem, their medical use can be improved further.

"EU-nuch in the Humira-m"

http://davidhealy.org/eu-nuch-in-the-humira-m/

snippet from the article:

There is no such thing as being European when you take a drug like Humira or Depakote and something goes wrong. When something goes wrong on their drug, companies go to extraordinary lengths to make it almost impossible for doctors or patients to report adverse events. It’s part of a larger mission to transform what were poisons to be used with care, into fertilizers to be dished out with abandon. (See American Woman, American Woman 2). When reports come in from trials or come in spontaneously companies can split up the coding of an event so that a suicidal reaction to a drug might be coded under anxiety, or agitation, or akathisia, or abnormal thoughts, or depression, or suicidal ideation, or suicidal behaviour, or even nausea. They can be miscoded as happening on placebo in trials when in fact they are linked to active treatment or they can be attributed to another drug the patient is on rather than the company’s drug....

- See more at: http://davidhealy.org/eu-nuch-in-the-humira-m/#sthash.xN6bLkr6.dpuf