Monday, May 01, 2006

Big Pharma - pinched down under

Poor Antipodean Big Pharma!

Australian subsids of drug companies are facing spot checks to clamp down on them offering inducements to doctors to prescribe their medicines.

Australia's competition regulator, Graeme Samuel, has proposed the measure to restrain drug companies offering perks and gifts to doctors to promote expensive but unproven cancer treatments.

Three Melbourne cancer experts have also spoken out against doctors who have undeclared ties with drug companies and are misleading the public about costly new anti-cancer drugs.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand! Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen posted a letter on Friday on its website to the New Zealand Ministry of Health about direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising.

According to Public Citizen, some of the problems with DTC advertising include a lack of relation to realistic public health needs, misleading and dangerous ads and the increasing cost of healthcare.

Source: news.com.au

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