The multi-billion pound pharmaceutical industry has spent the last decade developing new drugs which have produced little benefit and caused considerable harm, experts say today. Click HERE to view graphic The claim that there is an "innovation crisis" in pharmaceuticals because of the difficulty and expense of discovering new drugs is a myth fostered by an industry whose chief focus is on marketing, they add. Counter to drug industry claims that the pipeline of new drugs is running dry, the number of new drugs being licensed each year has remained at between 15 and 25. But most involve minor tweaks to existing drugs, designed to grab a slice of an existing market rather than offering genuine therapeutic innovation. Independent reviews suggest that 85 to 90 per cent provide little benefit over existing treatments with some, such as Vioxx the painkiller and Avandia, the diabetes drug, causing serious side effects which led to their withdrawal, the latter's in Europe. Writing in the British Medical Journal, Professor Donald Light from the University of Medicine of New Jersey and Joel Lexchin from York University in Toronto say the situation has remained the same for 50 years. The incentives for drug development are wrong … Continue reading →

NEW YORK A lost-luggage handler ran an Ecuador-to-New York smuggling ring that disguised drugs in chocolates and cocaine-soaked scuba diving certificates, and he stole valuables out of flyers' misplaced bags that he was hired to deliver, authorities said Tuesday. Jorge Guerrero arranged to ship innocent-looking but drug-laden packages on cargo planes from Guayaquil, Ecuador, to New York's Kennedy Airport, authorities said as Guerrero, his wife and four others pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and other charges. The packages went to parcel-delivery companies, where the conspirators picked them up, authorities said. Seized shipments read like a bizarre shopping list: sugar and oatmeal cookies packed atop a pound of cocaine, chocolate candies laced with half a pound of heroin, and empanadas -- a Latin American savory pastry -- stuffed with over three pounds of cocaine, all in professional-looking packages as if bound for store shelves, according to authorities. Also listed was a stack of diving course diplomas that had been drenched in more than three pounds of cocaine, which was apparently to be extracted later. Guerrero sometimes picked up the packages while on his trips for a baggage-delivery company, and he also exploited his job to mine jewelry, electronics and other items … Continue reading →

The multi-billion pound pharmaceutical industry has spent the last decade developing new drugs which have produced little benefit and caused considerable harm, experts say today. The claim that there is an "innovation crisis" in pharmaceuticals because of the difficulty and expense of discovering new drugs is a myth fostered by an industry whose chief focus is on marketing, they add. Counter to drug industry claims that the pipeline of new drugs is running dry, the number of new drugs being licensed each year has remained at between 15 and 25. But most involve minor tweaks to existing drugs, designed to grab a slice of an existing market rather than offering genuine therapeutic innovation. Independent reviews suggest that 85 to 90 per cent provide little benefit over existing treatments with some, such as Vioxx the painkiller and Avandia, the diabetes drug, causing serious side effects which led to their withdrawal, the latter's in Europe. Writing in the British Medical Journal, Professor Donald Light from the University of Medicine of New Jersey and Joel Lexchin from York University in Toronto say the situation has remained the same for 50 years. The incentives for drug development are wrong and have skewed the behaviour … Continue reading →

For every 1 spent on basic research a whopping 19 is spent on marketing, claim experts Current reward system discourages innovation, they add By Claire Bates PUBLISHED: 10:13 EST, 8 August 2012 | UPDATED: 11:08 EST, 8 August 2012 The pharmaceutical industry is in crisis because companies are rewarded for developing new drugs that have few clinical advantages over existing ones, experts say. Writing in the British Medical Journal, Professor Donald Light from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Joel Lexchin from York University in Toronto, say this has discouraged innovation for the past five decades. They pointed to independent reviews that found between 85 and 90 per cent of all new drugs developed over the past 50 years have provided few benefits and considerable harms. Has the pharmaceutical industry lost its way? Professor Light and Mr Lexchin say profits have been given priority over innovation They said most research funds don't go towards finding breakthrough drugs but towards developing scores of minor variations that produce a steady stream of profits. Heavy promotion of these drugs can account for up to 80% of a nations drug spending, they add. The duo warn that companies exaggerate research … Continue reading →