Monthly Archives: November 2009

Failed antidepressant being repackaged and marketed as Viagra for women…(no joke)

Flibanserin failed its trials as an anti-depressant, but when its maker, Boehringer, asked test subjects to return the unused portion, patients were reluctant. Boehringer funded a study at the University of North Carolina, which now reports that Flibanserin increases a woman’s sex drive. A lot of the media is touting this as “female Viagra,” but it’s really no such thing.

U.S. House debate on healthcare: Many Lawmakers statements ghostwritten by Genentech, a subsidiary of Swiss drug giant Roche

E-mail messages obtained by The New York Times show that the lobbyists drafted one statement for Democrats and another for Republicans. The lobbyists, employed by Genentech and by two Washington law firms, were remarkably successful in getting the statements printed in the Congressional Record under the names of different members of Congress. 42 House members picked up some of its talking points — 22 Republicans and 20 Democrats.

Antipsychotics Like Seroquel Blamed for Deaths and Strokes

According to a new report commissioned by the British government, there are an estimated 180,000 elderly people with dementia in the United Kingdom currently being treated with antipsychotic drugs such as Seroquel, Zyprexa, Risperdal and Abilify. The report found that these drugs could be responsible for as many as 1,800 deaths and 1,620 strokes each year among the elderly with dementia in the United Kingdom.