Do Drug Companies Help Or Hurt Patients?

[Stretch]

PhD. Professor of Medical and Biochemistry from Stanford U., nails drug companies for the good and bad. Includes Merck's Viox downfall.

This is about 1 1/2 hrs. long. It is very informative about many different things. It is well worth the time

for instance.

Did you know that Ivermectin, a solution to get rid of worms in dog cows and other animals, can cure river blindness and elephantiasis.

Did you know that Merck, big Pharma, pays the FDA for its own studies on side effects on drugs.

This youtube article is an explanation of what is going on in the cost of the drug world. It also has many parallels with the VA.

[Pete53]

First of all many here including myself would be dead or much worse off without Meds. What bothers me is almost everyone I see at VA is quick to right a script but I cannot ever remember in 17 years someone at VA sitting down with me for a review of the 30 medications the VA sends me. A few years ago I did one on my own and was able to stop taking about 8 meds after consultation with a Doc at VA.

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Cripes, I forgot to put the link to the professors article. Also check out Einsteins, nanoscience, and superconductivity if it interest you.

[john999]

I think drug companies mainly help themselves.

[tdak]

Oh, to me this one is easy, they help themselves. The advertise themselves, with help from the doctors of course. Hey whats the new drug of choice on the market today, lets use that one and go script happy, of course until some goes, pardon he pun, postal or even suicidal, who knows.

Then they recall it and take if off the shelves, of course only after someone sues them, but not before we all watch the pasted ads on TV every 20 minutes for a month or so if we were the victim of this particular drug.

My question, where did it really start, the drug company pushing to have it approved or the FDA allowing it to be marketing to the public?

[Pete53]

I don't think that drugs should be advertised on tv

[tdak]

I agree with you on that. Advertising prescription drugs is as bad as advertising cigarettes and alcohol to young kids.