Drug company ‘check lists’ influence patient choice
How ethical is it for pharmaceutical companies to target consumers with advertising for their prescription drugs?
News Tagged ‘New York’
FDA keeping a watchful eye on studies on dangers of Yaz
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it will keep a watchful eye on studies comparing drospirenone-containing birth control pills with levonorgestrel-containing oral contraceptives to determine if one is more dangerous to users. Two recent studies published in the British Medical Journal found pills with drospirenone were two to three times more likely to cause blood clots in women who used them.
Birth control pills with the hormone drospirenone include Bayer’s Yaz, Yasmin, Beyaz and Safyral, as well as generics Ocella, Gianvi, Loryna, Syeda, and Zarah. The FDA says it hopes to have data later this summer from an 800,000-person study it commissioned to examine the risks.
Bayer continues to fight generic competition of its birth control pills
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may have granted permission to drug companies to market generic versions of Bayer’s blockbuster birth control pills Yasmin and Yaz, but Bayer is not giving up its fight to prevent other companies from taking a bite out its profits. The German drug company said Wednesday it will continue trying to protects its patents on its pills despite a New York judge’s dismissal of Bayer’s latest patent infringement lawsuit late Tuesday against Watson Pharmaceuticals and Sandoz.
Watson receives FDA approval for Zarah, generic version of Yasmin
Watson Pharmaceuticals has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Abbreviated New Drug Application for Zarah, its new oral contraceptive pill that serves as a generic version of Bayer’s best-selling birth control pill Yasmin. Yasmin and its generic equivalents sold approximately $97 million in the U.S. for the twelve months ending June 30, 2010.
Should you use the pill to treat acne?
Any kind of hormonal change can elicit a flare of acne, from going on or off birth control, having a baby, or entering perimenopause or menopause. There are a variety of topical and oral acne treatments, including some birth control pills. But before you turn to hormonal therapy to treat those annoying breakouts, you should consider the risks, says Dr. Diane Berson, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.
Columnist: 50th anniversary of The Pill nothing to celebrate
Holly Grigg-Spall, columnist for the UK’s The Independent, says the revolutionary birth control pill had nothing to do with turning her into a women’s health writer and activist. In fact, it gave her something to complain about.
FDA cracks down on deceptive advertising of drugs
In early 2009, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals launched a $20 million advertising campaign for its blockbuster birth control pill, Yaz. The ads carried the same message: “You may have seen some Yaz commercials recently that were not clear. The FDA wants us to correct a few points in those ads.”
Bayer tests Google’s new ad format for Yaz promotion
A new ad format developed by Google for prescription drugs attaches a fixed link to sponsored results. When clicked, the link takes the browser to a page announcing the drug’s side effects, risks, and other important information, much the same way as it is printed on the drug label or inside the product’s packaging. Bayer was the first company to sign up for the new format, which it now uses for its beleaguered birth control pill Yaz.
Comedian lampoons the absurdity of drug ads
Writer-comedian Sarah Haskins has produced another segment of her popular satire on Current TV’s Target: Women, this time calling out the absurdity of television advertising in marketing drugs to women.
Switzerland investigates the death of young Yaz user
A Swiss health agency is investigating the death of a young woman in Switzerland who died while taking Bayer AG’s birth control pill Yaz. Bloomberg reported that Swissmedic (Switzerland’s drug therapy regulatory agency) and an investigative judge are probing the sudden death of the woman, whose autopsy revealed she died from the effects of a pulmonary embolism.