We’ll Be Looking for Sneak Provisions in This Week’s Must-Pass Budget Bill
Natural health foes may once again try this deceptive trick to enact legislation to benefit Big Pharma or Big Farma.
09 Dec
2014
02 Dec
2014
Compounding Pharmacies File Suit over “Unlawful” Insurance Claim Denials
Companies claim that the blanket denial of coverage of compounding ingredients is against federal law. It could also affect access to critical natural health products. Action Alert! In August we told you about pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)—companies that process prescriptions for insurance companies and corporations, and use their size to negotiate low prices with drug makers and pharmacies. They […]
25 Nov
2014
Feeling Pressure from the Public, NIH Opens the Books on Clinical Trials
Researchers may now have to make clinical study results public— even if the results run counter to the interests of Big Pharma. Action Alert! In response to mounting concerns that important health data has been kept hidden from physicians and their patients, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Health and Human Services […]
25 Nov
2014
Are You Marketing a New Drug? FDA Will Do Its Best to See That You Have No Competition from Any Source!
If you thought the FDA was hostile only to supplements, think again. The agency is also unfriendly to drugs no longer under patent. Aspirin is a very old drug. It is no longer under patent protection, which means there is no longer any financial windfall to be made from it. We have reservations about taking […]
19 Nov
2014
How a Tooth-Whitening Lawsuit Landed before the Supreme Court
—and why their decision will have far-reaching ramifications for state licensing boards. Last year we told you about the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation of the North Carolina dental board. The FTC decided the board had attempted to monopolize the teeth whitening business, and found it had illegally thwarted competition through cease-and-desist letters. The board—composed mainly of private dentists—had […]
13 Nov
2014
Problems with Compounding Regulation?
Recent regulations released by the FDA contain several provisions that are harmful to doctors, patients, and compounding pharmacists. Office Use: This is an area of the rulemaking that has garnered the biggest reaction from the compounding community. Congress and the FDA have required a patient-specific prescription for all drugs compounded, with a narrow exception if […]
13 Nov
2014
How is Compounding Regulated?
Compounding has recently undergone a regulatory overhaul by Congress and the FDA. In November 2013, the Drug Quality and Security Act (DQSA) was signed in to law, amending the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and overhauling the regulation of compounding. In July 2014, the FDA released rules and guidances and other documents implementing […]
10 Nov
2014
How a Monopoly Is Turning the Date Rape Drug into a Blockbuster Moneymaker
Patent protection means you get to charge whatever the market will bear. In this case, it bears a 935% increase in the price tag.
21 Oct
2014
Government Ignores Natural Treatment Options
Why are these approaches being ignored? Could it be because there is little profit to be made from them? Action Alert!
16 Sep
2014
FDA Approves Controversial Diet Drug Despite Warning of Suicide Risk
Contrave has terrible side effects, is expensive, includes a hidden antidepressant, and barely even works. So why did the FDA approve it? Action Alert! The FDA approved two weight loss drugs in 2012, Qsymia and Belviq, but sales have been sluggish. This week FDA approved Contrave, even though the FDA initially denied approval to Contrave in […]