60 Minutes report tonight on Drug Comapny Testing and Safety.

[DoubleDose]

I hope that many of you were able to watch the 60 Minutes segment this evening regarding how the big drug companies go about testing their drugs for approval, and for safety.  Most of it is farmed out to independent testing labs, by their clients, the drug companies themselves, and they are paid for by the Pharmaceutical firms themselves, and have a vested interest in keeping their clients happy.  They showed how easy it can be to shop around for the testing company that you like, and to look for the results that you want, in getting any drug approved. Even if they don't like what one company tells them, they can go back and look for a more favorable response, from a different firm, that they will then agree to work with. They emphasized how very little FDA oversight is involved in ANY of the drug safety and approval process, and gave the impression that the drug companies can find ways to get whatever outcome they are looking for.  When I think about all the issues and questions regarding Interferon, and the long term safety, consequences, actual patient longitudinal studies, etc. its seems easy to see why we know so little.  

The 60 Minutes segment basically implied that the drug companies are looking out for their own interests first and foremost, and the FDA has very little involvement in the actual oversight of safety testing, or in what the independent testing labs hired by the Pharmaceuticals end up reporting as being the outcome.  Understanding how these companies go about their business, and the extremely small involvement of the FDA, I am not at all surprised that we know next to nothing about the real long term outcomes for people who have used Interferon therapy.  
Hopefully this segment will become available this week on the 60 Minutes website.  It was very disturbing to see how cozy the whole drug approval and safety oversight process really is.  Did anyone else out there watch this segment by any chance?

DoubleDose

[Kristina538]

I guess the bottom line is that the drugs are bought by Govt's to try to prevent the cost of us all slowly using up resources and $ by our dying of HCV.   I shudder when I think of drug trials, and yet would've happily volunteered when I was an immortal 20something old.   If the drugs can be proven to treat and 'cure' the majority with no short term drastic mortality rate, they're going to be used.

In this day and age, we tend to go for the short term fix with everything, without looking too far into the future., which may or may not be a good thing, but is certainly a trend.   No $ for long term outcomes - just personal judgements to be used for personal issues.  

[Dee1956]

Thank you for sharing, no I did not see

[can-do-man]

One has to wonder why someone always has to be negative about big pharma when they might just owe their life to them.

[hrsepwrguy]

This topic has nothing to do with hep c.

[flcyclist]

DD, I'm not saying that I refute the story, or challenge the truth of what was said.  As I stated above, "I'm not saying this happened here and don't know the details".  I really didn't pay close attention to it due to the reporter and his history.  Do you really think that they include ALL facts from both side when reporting these stories?  Maybe I'm a bit cynical when it comes to the media, but I only believe half of what I hear on a good day.  Believe what you want.

[willbb]

hope that many of you were able to watch the 60 Minutes segment this evening regarding how the big drug companies go about testing their drugs for approval,
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No...... was busy reading  statistics articles and study results on what in -roads are currently happening by Pharma in their fight to increase the arsenal against HCV.....  some very positive stuff...

[DoubleDose]

BTW, what was it that he stated that was false or misleading?  I agree that false, sensationalized tabloid reporting is reprehensible, like the media tabloids, etc....but I think you need at least some knowledge of what was distorted, or facts about how they may have mislead us, to just out of hand trash the story.  I would not describe 60 Minutes generally as being cheesy tabloid journalism, from my experiences watching it over the years.  Maybe a little 'liberal leaning', but usually pretty serious, and objective, I believe.  I am not a big Chris Hansen fan either, but what they reported seemed researched, and very credible.  What do you know about the report that refutes their findings?

DoubleDose

[flcyclist]

I've seen too many "investigative reports" that first declares an agenda and only looks for information to support that agenda.  This isn't an unbiased report, but tabloid journalism.  Especially when its done by Chris Hansen, the one so famous for his "To Catch a Predator" stories, then was caught cheating on his wife.  Sorry, he lost his credibility with me.  

Unfortunately this style of reporting is very willing to dismiss anything supporting the other side to support their agenda.  We really never get a chance to hear all of both sides since it may diminish the drama of the story.  I'm not saying this happened hear and don't know the details, but I've seen it personally first hand and was recently involved in a similar style attack interview.  This tabloid style report has little credibility in my opinion.  

[DoubleDose]

And, sorry for my 'dyslexic' typo in the title for this thread!  I find myself doing this dyslexic thing constantly these days...and never had a bit of a problem with it in the past.  Almost everytime I use the keyboard in the past few years, I seem to transpose letters in just about every paragraph!  I need to be more rigorous in my proof reading.  

Title should have read:  Drug Company Testing, of course.

DoubleDose