Pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline has been hit with yet another marketing violation. The drugmaker has paid $105 million to more than 40 American states who filed suit against GSK for promoting off-label uses for its antidepressants. But financial payouts are proving little more than slaps on the wrist for the repeat offender who continues to engage in illegal promotional strategies.
Imagine being able to grow part of an organ in a lab – and then run tests on its functioning in order to truly understand how best to treat a particular condition. Rather than use human subjects to test new therapies, which involves costly and complex pharmaceutical quality control protocols, researchers could develop customized treatments using genetically engineered samples. Organ-on-a-chip Scientists from Harvard’s Wyss Institute, Boston Children’s Hospital, and the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have collaborated to revolutionize clinical research with new organ-on-a-chip technology. Using patient stem cells, the team actually engineered part of a heart. The.. READ MORE »
Is what’s good for the countertop good for the cold-cuts? One might argue that eliminating bacteria present on food preparation or processing surfaces is of little value when the food itself is already contaminated with salmonella or E. coli. That very reasoning prompted PURE Sciences Inc. to develop a new, direct-to-food application for its liquid disinfectant called SDC (silver dihydrogen citrate). Swift Acting, Long Lasting For years, SDC has been used to wipe down contact surfaces in restaurants and factories – part of a well-established food safety certification protocol. CEO of PURE Sciences, Hank Lambert says they’ve produced new concentrations.. READ MORE »
Canadians are plagued by skyrocketing drug prices, and in many cases are unable to afford life-saving treatments. Big Pharma defends its position, maintaining that an influx of cheap generics has forced it to inflate name brand pricing.
FDA investigators expose India-based Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries for tampering with test data and a complete failure to maintain sanitary conditions in its laboratories. Inspectors encounter human waste, rodent traps, and manufacturing refuse at the plant, prompting a ban on US exports.
Despite promises to clean up its suspect drug promotion practices, GlaxoSmithKline sales reps have been charged with bribing Polish doctors to boost prescriptions of company products.
Within recent years, there’s been an explosion of pet-related products and vigorous marketing campaigns to promote them – gourmet foods, designer outerwear, luxurious accessories. Mainstream media has aggressively promoted pets as valued family members, and most of us know a dog or two who is pampered and protected on par with a newborn baby! The status gap between domestic animals and their owners is quickly diminishing. So, it’s no wonder that clinical research and pharmaceutical drug discovery is devoting increased resources to pet meds – drugs that address conditions we would normally associate with humans, but that afflict that increasingly.. READ MORE »
Western medicine loves its pharmaceuticals. There are pills, injections, inhalers and patches for every conceivable ailment. It seems that each month brings a new drug delivery system to pharmacy shelves and medicine cabinets, promising to relieve or cure whatever ails us. Unfortunately, our dependence on chemical compounds has brought with it a slew of unwanted side-effects, the problem of antibiotic resistance, and in many cases has moved us no closer to preventing devastating disease. Looking instead to nature for answers, scientists from the universities of Bonn and Lille have presented groundbreaking clinical research on the cognitive benefits of caffeine. With.. READ MORE »
It’s like owning the world’s first spaceship; an incredibly powerful and cutting-edge device capable of speeding across the universe. But there’s no guidance system. So, you end up either flying in circles, or colliding disastrously with an interstellar object. Many of the most innovative compounds that enter clinical trials suffer a similar fate.
Most of us, even those who wouldn’t call themselves pet-friendly, would love to see an end to animal lab testing. But the truth is, the practice remains central to our discovery of essential new medicines. Every new therapy from cancer treatments to neurological therapies is first tested for safety on animals before being administered to humans. With few viable alternatives, clinical research and drug discovery has continued to rely on animal testing as an unavoidable evil. That is, until now. Focused on finding more humane solutions, scientists around the world are coming up with some astonishingly innovative animal-free testing options… READ MORE »
