E-DRUG: News item unethical marketing US
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[non-evidence based drug promotion costs money! Anybody in E-drug who
can give more details and what this means for drug promotion? WB]
Just picked this from the Net:
http://news.excite.com/news/u/990730/03/us-ca-2-2
Knoll Pharmaceutical to pay $41 million
Updated 3:15 AM ET July 30, 1999
LOS ANGELES, July 30 (UPI) The attorneys general of 37 states say
Knoll Pharmaceutical Co. and its parent company, BASF Corp., have
agreed to pay nearly $42 million in connection with the alleged
fraudulent and misleading marketing of its synthetic thyroid
drug, Synthroid. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said,
"This is a case of false, deceptive and misleading marketing
practices involving a legitimate product. We found the company
trying to keep consumers in the dark about the availability of
other equivalent, but less expensive products. This is
unacceptable."
Knoll has not admitted any wrongdoing, but has agreed to stop
claiming Synthroid outperformed, was more reliable or safer than
its generic counterparts. Synthroid is used to treat
hypothyroidism, a condition in which a person's thyroid gland
fails to produce sufficient thyroid hormone.
Also see http://www.ohio.com:80/bj/news/ohio/docs/019106.htm
Can some US e-druggers give some background on this news-item?
Thanks,
Mark Raijmakers
Wemos Foundation
P.O. Box 1693
1000 BR Amsterdam - The Netherlands
Tel.+31-20-4.688.388 / fax 4.686.008
http://www.wemos.nl
mark.raijmakers@wemos.nl
* NEW Web-site on drug donations
http://www.drugdonations.org (under construction)
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