March 2015
Recent Project News
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News Round-Up
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January 28: Baltimore Sun: "House Republicans propose changes for NIH, FDA" by John Fritze
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-republicans-nih-20150127-story.html
February 2: U.S. News and World Report: "6 Ways to Be Your Own Health Advocate" by Elizabeth Renter http://health.usnews.com/health-news/patient-advice/articles/2015/02/02/6-ways-to-be-your-own-health-advocate
February 2: WebMD: "Medication Problems May Spur Many Child ER Trips" by Amy Norton http://www.webmd.com/children/news/20150202/medication-problems-may-spur-many-child-er-trips-study-finds
February 3: Washington Post: "GNC, Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens accused of selling adulterated ‘herbals’" by Sarah Kaplan http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/03/gnc-target-wal-mart-walgreens-accused-of-selling-fake-herbals
February 6: New York Times: "Knee Replacement Device Unapproved, but Used in Surgery" by Marshall Allen and Olga Pierce http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/business/knee-replacement-device-unapproved-but-used-in-surgery.html
February 9: Slate: "Are Your Medications Safe? The FDA buries evidence of fraud in medical trials. My students and I dug it up." by Charles Seife http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2015/02/fda_inspections_fraud_fabrication_and_scientific_misconduct_are_hidden_from.html
February 10: New York Times: "New Dosages of Old Drugs Are Used to Raise Their Prices" by Barry Meier http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/11/business/new-dosages-of-old-drugs-used-to-raise-their-prices.html
February 11: International Business Times: "Drug Ads Are Hard To Read: FDA Suggests A Fix, Admitting Bungled Approach" by Amy Nordrum http://www.ibtimes.com/drug-ads-are-hard-read-fda-suggests-fix-admitting-bungled-approach-1811538
February 11: WSJ Pharmalot: "AstraZeneca Pays $7.9M to Settle Kickback Charges Paid to a PBM" by Ed Silverman http://blogs.wsj.com/pharmalot/2015/02/11/astrazeneca-pays-7-9m-to-settle-kickback-charges-paid-to-a-pbm/
February 12: Forbes: "Are Sky-High Prices For New Drugs Justified?" by Arlene Weintraub http://www.forbes.com/sites/arleneweintraub/2015/02/12/are-sky-high-prices-for-new-drugs-justified/
February 17: New York Times: "Doctors Strive to Do Less Harm by Inattentive Care" by Gina Kolata http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/18/health/doctors-strive-to-do-less-harm-by-inattentive-care.html
February 18: Slate: "Feminists Claim the FDA Is Blocking “Female Viagra” Because of Sexism. They’re Wrong." by Amanda Marcotte http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2015/02/18/female_viagra_is_not_the_fix_and_the_fda_s_rejection_of_flibanserin_is_not.html
February 19: Wall Street Journal: "Why Are So Many Toddlers Taking Psychiatric Drugs?" by Murali Doraiswamy http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2015/02/19/why-are-so-many-toddlers-taking-psychiatric-drugs
February 19: Time: "Candidate to Lead FDA Has Close Ties to Big Pharma" by Massimo Calabresi http://time.com/3714242/candidate-to-lead-fda-has-close-ties-to-big-pharma/
February 23: Pacific Standard: "Poison Pill: How the American opiate epidemic was started by one pharmaceutical company." By Mike Mariani http://www.psmag.com/health-and-behavior/how-the-american-opiate-epidemic-was-started-by-one-pharmaceutical-company
February 24: New York Times: "Shire, Maker of Binge-Eating Drug Vyvanse, First Marketed the Disease" by Katie Thomas http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/business/shire-maker-of-binge-eating-drug-vyvanse-first-marketed-the-disease.html
February 25: USA Today: "CDC: Deaths soared as narcotic painkillers grew popular" by Donna Leinwand Leger http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/02/25/deaths-from-popular-narcotic-painkillers-soared-as-drugs-grew-more-popular/23950991/
February 28: New York Times: "Nothing Is Wrong With Your Sex Drive" by Emily Nagoski http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/opinion/nothing-is-wrong-with-your-sex-drive.html
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Check These Out!
On May 1-2, 2015 in Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University's Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics will hold a conference celebrating the end of their Lab on Institutional Corruption. Get more information on the agenda and how to register here.
Make sure you don't miss this funny yet serious "Last Week Tonight" episode on how Pharma markets their drugs to doctors.
Another relevant video is Retro Report's 12-minute documentary on vaccines; it touches on the different languages of scientists and the public, and the crucial role of the media.
Use this helpful infographic by the National Center for Health Research to understand what's at stake with the medical device tax.