Good morning, everyone, and how are you today? We hope the weekend was refreshing, because now the routine of meetings, deadlines and developing new political skill sets has resumed. Daunting, isn't it? As you know, we choose to cope by brewing a cup or two of stimulation. We are back to Southern Pecan, in fact. Please join us if you have a moment. Meanwhile, we have gathered a few tidbits to get you going. Hope your day goes well and do stay in touch...
FDA Says No To Merck Combo Cholesterol Drug (Associated Press)
Small Biotechs Race To Cash In On Orphan Disease (Nature)
Glaxo To Hire Hundreds More Reps In China (Bloomberg News)
Doc Faces Sentencing For Bogus Trial Research (Topeka Capital Journal)
Korean Health Ministry To Open Pharma Grad Schools (Korea Herald)
Seattle Genetics And A Cancer Niche That Is Too Small? (The Street)
Roche Signs India's Emcure To Make Biologic Meds (Economic Times)
Merck Says Pill Tames Allergic Response To Ragweed (Reuters)
Lilly And Its Big Bet On Alzheimer's Drug (MedCity News)
CVS Confused Cancer Med With Children's Flouride (Associated Press)
Arena Seeks EMA Approval For Diet Pill (San Diego Business Journal)
New Greek Law Says Industry Must Cover Drug Overspending (Pharma Times)
Indian Drugmakers Complain About Government Procurement (Economic Times)
EDITOR'S NOTE: Please check this post for updates throughout the morning
steaming coffee thx to dleggett on flickr
7 Comments
May I observe that the item about the Greek parliament has an .... excessive component?
"Moreover, "inappropriate" prescribing - ie, of medicines by other than their generic name, and not of the cheapest product available - will now be classed as a criminal offence, according to local reports."
I believe that OMG was the acceptable rendering of my initial reaction!
This CVS error might never have happened if we had fluoridation of the local water supply. NJ ranks next to last in this regard. Probably because of the very high number of dentists/square mile. Fluoridation would be bad for business.
@oii - Regretably a neighboring CVS has multiple instances of misdirected meds of which I have some personal knowledge. They have everything to do with human error and nothing to do with NJ policies on fluoridation.
NOTE - before we go back and forth - handing a patron a perscription for a similar sounding drug, prescribed for someone with same last name (but different first name), ranks as a human error. That's "just one" .... but it isn't a lonely number.
Maybe it's time to start hiring pharmacists instead of pharmacy techs again. Throw in the hours they work and the nonstop stream of customers that they have to service and it is very little wonder mistakes happen.
The CVS case is curious in that all scripts were mixed up for a period of time. Were the cancer meds poured into a container labeled as fluoride? It seems like the source was the issue as it affected all scripts. Was that CVS error or supplier?
Let's not forget about people like ex pharmacist Robert Courtney, who is currently doing hard time for his misadventure with cancer medications.
Apples and oranges. Courtney watered down the meds to skim profit. Clearly the cancer meds were a lot more expensive than the fluoride pills and profit had nothing to do with the CVS case.
I agree with xmrk re hiring more pharmacists. Believe it or not there is a local community college where you can get an online degree as a pharmacy tech. From reading the prospectus I didn't see where the curriculum required setting foot in an actual pharmacy.