When Drug Companies Are Hazardous To Your Health

GlaxoSmithKline discontinues production of "wonder cancer drug" Bexxar because it wasn't earning the company enough money.

How much, if any, of a PR disaster will this be for the company and Big Pharma in general?



When Drug Companies Are Hazardous To Your Health: Lifesaving Cancer Drug Bexxar Discontinued By GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), Experimental Drugs Withheld:

http://www.ibtimes.com/when-drug-companies-are-hazardous-your-health-lifesaving-cancer-drug-bexxar-discontinued-1551568


Wonder Cancer Drug Bexxar Discontinued Because Of Low Profits:

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/health/conditions/cancer/wonder-cancer-drug-bexxar-discontinued-because-low-profits

 

We're in newspapers, man.

 

Spit take.

 

Yep, we may only be 34 days in, but that's Post of the Year quality right there.

 

I think manufacturers of cancer reducing drugs should be held to a different standard than those who make a product like New Coke, typewriters, VCRs or 8-tracks. If GSK thinks the production of Bexxar isn't worth their time, they should sell their patent to another pharmaceutical company or license the manufacturing rights to others or give up their right to exclusively manufacturer the drug. Don't just stop production completely, lock up the formula in a safe and use your patent to prevent others from producing the drug.

Now I'm biased on this since I know someone who ten years ago received the Bexxar treatment and has been considered 'cancer-free' since then. Why are there so few people receiving this treatment now? Probably a combination of Medicare's 2007 decision to reduce their reimbursement rate for this drug, insurance companies doing the same and in many cases forcing patients to undergo other 'more cost-effective' treatments first before making Bexxar available to their insurees and some oncologists not willing to prescribe the treatment since they may not be qualified to administer the treatment themselves. see: http://www.medicineatmichigan.org/magazine/2011/summer/wherecures/bexxar.asp

I know if I, or some one close to me, is diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, I'd be livid that Bexxar isn't available as a treatment option because GSK stopped production of it "because it wasn't profitable enough" and they wouldn't let anyone else produce it either. IMO, drug companies should have to manufacture their patented drugs or forfeit their patent on them. If there is limited demand for the product, manufacture it on a on-demand basis.

 

A more balanced take:

http://www.xconomy.com/national/2013/08/26/why-good-drugs-sometimes-fail-in-the-market-the-bexxar-story/

With a pretty telling quote:

 

this former Newsweek journalist/cancer survivor/Bexxar patient has a different view:

http://therenodispatch.blogspot.com/2013/08/breaking-exclusive-lifesaving-cancer.html

 

I'm sure he's found all the flaws in this study:

https://ash.confex.com/ash/2011/webprogram/Paper39037.html



After all, what the eff do these folks know?

 

If doctors aren't prescribing it, why are we blaming GSK?

 

Because it's an EEVUL CORPORATION!!!1!!!

 

Well, on the one hand we have a scientific study. On the other hand, we have a personal anecdote.

I hate the fact that for the vast majority of the human race, there is some confusion as to which should be more compelling.