Comments on: In Australia, Pfizer Is Guilty Of Discrediting Pharma http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/07/in-australia-pfizer-is-guilty-of-discrediting-pharma/ News, Comment and Conversation Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:58:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Hypocrisy rules http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/07/in-australia-pfizer-is-guilty-of-discrediting-pharma/#comment-367882 Hypocrisy rules Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:00:59 +0000 http://www.pharmalot.com/?p=14816#comment-367882 Re Australia: It seems to me that Australian bigpharma cos are deliberately and with detailed plan breaking their codes of conduct with the simple calculation that the return from doing the unapproved, unethical, illegal, immoral etc will be far larger than basically a tocken fine they are handed out by their authorities. This is the way the bigpharmfia is doing biz these days. They know what they are not supposed to do but they do it anyway and if caught, pay up. Even in USA where they get hit with huge fines in hundreds of millions, they still do it. The returns from making false claims, offlabel promo, bribing etc are so great and they can never be acheived by using ONLY the legal promotional practices. When they use the illegal with and along with llegal practices 1 + 1 = 3. Of course as in the case of Pfizer downunder, the management denies any knowledge by their senior management about the misconduct. Lies, lies and more lies that is what they are saying. That is another trick they took to the level of an art. Buffers between them and the sales reps who do the dirty work. Yet the reps are ordered to do the job and all the management knows and approves it. How do we stop that? Re Australia: It seems to me that Australian bigpharma cos are deliberately and with detailed plan breaking their codes of conduct with the simple calculation that the return from doing the unapproved, unethical, illegal, immoral etc will be far larger than basically a tocken fine they are handed out by their authorities.
This is the way the bigpharmfia is doing biz these days. They know what they are not supposed to do but they do it anyway and if caught, pay up. Even in USA where they get hit with huge fines in hundreds of millions, they still do it. The returns from making false claims, offlabel promo, bribing etc are so great and they can never be acheived by using ONLY the legal promotional practices. When they use the illegal with and along with llegal practices 1 + 1 = 3.
Of course as in the case of Pfizer downunder, the management denies any knowledge by their senior management about the misconduct. Lies, lies and more lies that is what they are saying. That is another trick they took to the level of an art. Buffers between them and the sales reps who do the dirty work. Yet the reps are ordered to do the job and all the management knows and approves it.
How do we stop that?

]]> By: Just A Thought http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/07/in-australia-pfizer-is-guilty-of-discrediting-pharma/#comment-367847 Just A Thought Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:55:05 +0000 http://www.pharmalot.com/?p=14816#comment-367847 I meant to comment to HC and others on the Reps Don’t Influence Prescribing Habits thread the other day. This is as good a place as any. The thing is, Pfizer changed my medication and put myself and others at a well known risk. They still have done nothing toward taking responsibility and it sure isn't because we have not made them aware. I no longer trust them. They don't have my best interest at heart or we would have been warned in advance so that we could safely try to adjust to something else. Some drug reps here work for this company that I no longer trust, they represent the company and their products, and for that reason I do not want them to have any influence on my doctor. What happens to the sacred doctor/patient relationship when someone with a financial interest feels entitled to get involved? This is what drug companies are reducing the medical profession to: I know Pfizer had an influence on my doctor. He's been my doc for about 15 years. At first he was upset and bewildered when I informed him that Dilantin had been changed, to learn that No Substitutions does not mean just that. He made sure I got the same medication for 13 years to keep me from the very trouble that Pfizer created for me when they changed their excipients and production method. He contacted Pfizer and all of a sudden this man who has known me for 15 years seemed to doubt the problems. Can I believe that he made an effective report to MedWatch? Maybe it was that Pfizer's quiet non-announcement touted the new formula as "New Look" suggesting that everything else was the same. Maybe it was that Prescriber's Letter stated that it was just the same as the old formula, except for appearance, even though they questioned the change in the NDC# if only the appearance was different. Suggestions flying all around that there was nothing to be concerned about and to not change prescribing practices, just saying to reassure the patient. Wonder where they got that idea? Whatever my doc was told (or by whom) his attitude about the situation changed. 15 years and I'm left with no one to rely on in a dire situation. And incidentally, I am not the only person this happened to. So while you may think you know the company and products that you are representing, you are not doctors and should not be making any suggestions or comments concerning treatments. If that is what you want to do, go to medical school and open a practice. Also, I recently received a packet, several months now after I first reported my AEs to Pfizer and the FDA (back in early December). It includes materials for sending a sample to Puerto Rico for quality assessment. I know of people who got this same packet right after they reported their AEs. The result was that the product met Pfizer's quality standards. Problem is those standards have changed (there is no denying it anymore, really). The note included in the packet was also sent to the FDAs Division of Compliance and that is who I intend to send a sample to. What they do with it is up to them. I'm not going to send it to Puerto Rico as per Pfizer's request because I do not trust them. Would you? They gave me less than 30 days to send the sample after months of no action or said that my case would be closed. What case? They didn't even address me properly though we have corresponded on the phone and through mailings. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.prescribersletter.com/(S(jrorp555nzza1i55ghfmcdek))/pl/Rumor.aspx?s=PRL RUMOR: The new Dilantin 100 mg capsules aren't the same as the original Dilantin Kapseals. TRUTH: Pfizer stopped making the original Dilantin Kapseals 100 mg when they updated their manufacturing process. The ingredients inside the new capsules are exactly the same...just the capsule shell has changed. read entire truth I meant to comment to HC and others on the Reps Don’t Influence Prescribing Habits thread the other day. This is as good a place as any.

The thing is, Pfizer changed my medication and put myself and others at a well known risk. They still have done nothing toward taking responsibility and it sure isn’t because we have not made them aware. I no longer trust them. They don’t have my best interest at heart or we would have been warned in advance so that we could safely try to adjust to something else.

Some drug reps here work for this company that I no longer trust, they represent the company and their products, and for that reason I do not want them to have any influence on my doctor. What happens to the sacred doctor/patient relationship when someone with a financial interest feels entitled to get involved?

This is what drug companies are reducing the medical profession to:
I know Pfizer had an influence on my doctor. He’s been my doc for about 15 years. At first he was upset and bewildered when I informed him that Dilantin had been changed, to learn that No Substitutions does not mean just that. He made sure I got the same medication for 13 years to keep me from the very trouble that Pfizer created for me when they changed their excipients and production method.

He contacted Pfizer and all of a sudden this man who has known me for 15 years seemed to doubt the problems. Can I believe that he made an effective report to MedWatch? Maybe it was that Pfizer’s quiet non-announcement touted the new formula as “New Look” suggesting that everything else was the same. Maybe it was that Prescriber’s Letter stated that it was just the same as the old formula, except for appearance, even though they questioned the change in the NDC# if only the appearance was different.
Suggestions flying all around that there was nothing to be concerned about and to not change prescribing practices, just saying to reassure the patient. Wonder where they got that idea?
Whatever my doc was told (or by whom) his attitude about the situation changed. 15 years and I’m left with no one to rely on in a dire situation. And incidentally, I am not the only person this happened to.

So while you may think you know the company and products that you are representing, you are not doctors and should not be making any suggestions or comments concerning treatments. If that is what you want to do, go to medical school and open a practice.

Also, I recently received a packet, several months now after I first reported my AEs to Pfizer and the FDA (back in early December). It includes materials for sending a sample to Puerto Rico for quality assessment. I know of people who got this same packet right after they reported their AEs. The result was that the product met Pfizer’s quality standards. Problem is those standards have changed (there is no denying it anymore, really).
The note included in the packet was also sent to the FDAs Division of Compliance and that is who I intend to send a sample to. What they do with it is up to them. I’m not going to send it to Puerto Rico as per Pfizer’s request because I do not trust them. Would you? They gave me less than 30 days to send the sample after months of no action or said that my case would be closed.
What case? They didn’t even address me properly though we have corresponded on the phone and through mailings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.prescribersletter.com/(S(jrorp555nzza1i55ghfmcdek))/pl/Rumor.aspx?s=PRL
RUMOR: The new Dilantin 100 mg capsules aren’t the same as the original Dilantin Kapseals.
TRUTH: Pfizer stopped making the original Dilantin Kapseals 100 mg when they updated their manufacturing process. The ingredients inside the new capsules are exactly the same…just the capsule shell has changed. read entire truth

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