Kickbacks on Aranesp: Boycott Amgen and Johnson & Johnson
This is just incredible.
The New York Times reported Wednesday on its Web site that the makers of Aranesp and another anemia drug whose safety has been questioned recently have been PAYING doctors to prescribe their drugs.
The NYT says that the drug companies have paid doctors hundreds of millions of dollars a year--payments that would be ILLEGAL if the drugs came in pill form, but apparently it is OK for drug companies to "rebate" part of the price that doctors pay for medicines that they dispense in their offices.
Rebate? I'd call that a kickback.
There's a loophole that needs closing. Quickly, before more cancer patients die.
The Times cited critics who said the payments give doctors an incentive to prescribe the anemia drugs known as EPO at levels that might increase risks of heart attacks or strokes.
What happened to the Hippocratic Oath? Maybe we should rename it the Hypocritical Oath?
I, for one, will no longer buy so much as a bandaid from Johnson & Johnson. Amgen will be a bit trickier, but I no longer plan to get the company's anemia drug, Aranesp. At $5,000-something a pop.
Doctors get millions for giving anemia drugs: NYT
@ Jeanne Sather 2007.
When my doc's gave me the shots (I got both procrit and aranesp), they only described that it gives you more energy. At that point, I was like... oh heck yeah!
Great. I am really a likely candidate for stroke / heart issues as I'm overweight and a diabetic.
Shame on them! Thanks for the heads up on this.
Posted by: debutaunt | June 05, 2007 at 10:13 PM
It's scary, isn't it? I've gotten them a number of times too, and no one ever warned me or did any special monitoring ... Argh.
Jeanne
Posted by: Jeanne | June 05, 2007 at 10:47 PM