Drug manufacturers claim their products are pricey because of the high cost and high risks involved in getting new drugs to market. But a recent study shows that these high cost estimates have been constructed by industry-supported economists and that R&D costs are not the barrier to drug development the drug companies maintain they are…..
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Is Grandfathering of Medical Devices Bad for Your Health?
The vast majority of medical devices recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were subject to a less stringent regulatory process that requires only that the device prove that it’s similar to something already on the market, according to a recently published study. Of the 113 devices recalled from 2005 to 2009 because….
Continue ReadingStudy casts doubt on effectiveness of routine lymph node removal in some women with early breast cancer
Many women with early breast cancer do not need to have their armpit lymph nodes removed, according to a new study. Currently, this painful procedure has long been routine, as physicians believed it would prolong women’s lives by keeping the cancer from spreading or coming back. However, the study shows that removing the cancerous lymph….
Continue ReadingMillions Untreated for High Cholesterol, but Are Drugs the Answer?
The news this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that as many as 48 million U.S. adults have high levels of bad cholesterol, and aren’t doing enough to control it, left out one conspicuous controversy: Should lots more Americans be taking statin drugs, or would it be a huge waste of money?….
Continue ReadingPatient safety at risk if testing standards for biosimilars are relaxed, FDA told at hearing
Patient safety advocates and brand-name drug makers lined up against companies that make generic drugs over just how flexible the standards should be for the clinical testing of biosimilars. These drugs, also known as biogenerics, follow-on biologics and subsequent entry biologics, are officially approved subsequent versions of biopharmaceutical products following patent and exclusivity expiration on….
Continue ReadingSharing safety data among hospitals is shown to cut injury rate
Here’s a new research finding that is encouraging but discouraging at the same time for patient safety. After 16 Michigan hospitals began to share patient safety information, surgical complication rates dropped by nearly 10 percent, according to a recent study. That’s encouraging, of course. The disquieting piece is why it would take a major research….
Continue ReadingMost Published Research Findings Are Wrong
That’s the provocative headline on an article by an internationally regarded skeptic of medical research. And the striking thing is that many researchers agree their field is badly flawed. Dr. John Ioannidis bolstered his contention about the wrongness of most published research with an elaborate mathematical proof published in the on-line journal PLoS Medicine. Anyone….
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