M�me pb en France... Jacques CHOUKROUN M D Urgences, CH MAMERS FRANCE [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Charles Brault" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "URG-L Mailing List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2002 2:37 AM Subject: URG-L: M�dicaments Nouveaux et amlior�s)))))))))))
> New Medicines Seldom Contain Anything New, Study Finds > By MELODY PETERSEN > > > Two-thirds of the drugs approved from 1989 to 2000 were modified > versions of existing drugs or even identical to those already on the > market, rather than truly new medicines, according to a new study. > > The report also said that most of the increased spending on new > prescription drugs was on products that the Food and Drug > Administration had determined did not provide significant benefits > over those already on the market. > > Some of the reformulated prescription drugs are now among the most > heavily advertised. For example, Nexium, a recently approved ulcer > medication, is a modification of Prilosec, which is soon expected to > lose its patent protection. Clarinex, an allergy drug, is a > reformulation of Claritin. Sarafem, for premenstrual irritability, is > the same drug as Prozac but has been renamed and repackaged in > capsules of pink and lavender. > > "The plain fact is that many new drugs are altered or slightly > changed versions of existing drugs, and they may or may not be all > that much better than what's already available," said Nancy Chockley, > president of the National Institute for Health Care Management > Foundation, which wrote the report. "Consumers should be more aware > of that." > > The institute receives 40 percent of its financing from the Blue > Cross Blue Shield health insurers and has often clashed with the > pharmaceutical industry because of its reports on the rising cost of > prescription drugs. The drug industry's trade group, the > Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, criticized the > study yesterday, saying that it was "flawed and misguided." > > Richard I. Smith, vice president for policy and research at the > group, said that even if a medicine was similar to one already on the > market, it could still offer many benefits to patients. For example, > he said, even though there are several similar drugs that fight > depression - including Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft - many patients may > not respond to one medicine but will to another. > > "If a new drug does not have sufficient advantages, it will not be > used," Mr. Smith said. > > He said the report by the National Institute for Health Care > Management "appears to be little more than a political and > financially motivated cheap shot masquerading as science in the > public interest." > > While it has been known for some time that many of the drugs approved > were similar to existing medicines, the institute's study appears to > be the first to use data from the F.D.A. to try to determine just how > prevalent these medicines are. Often such modified versions of > medicines are called me-too drugs. > > Of the 1,035 drugs approved by the F.D.A. from 1989 to 2000, only > 361, or 35 percent, contained new active ingredients, the study said. > The rest contained active ingredients that were already available in > other medicines on the market. > > Of those 361 drugs, fewer than half were given priority reviews by > the F.D.A. because of their significance. The agency grants priority > reviews to medicines that are believed to be more effective, have > fewer side effects or otherwise perform better than existing drugs. > > Considering those statistics, the institute found that highly > innovative new medicines - those with new chemical ingredients that > offer significant improvements over existing drugs - made up only 15 > percent of those approved in the period. These medicines included > Fosamax, for osteoporosis; Avandia and Actos, for diabetes; and > Viagra, for erectile dysfunction. > > The study said that drug companies were increasingly relying on the > me-too products as patents on top-selling drugs expired, and they > could not discover enough truly new medicines to increase revenue as > fast as investors expected. > > The modified drugs also provide a high return on investment, the > study stated, since developing them is much less expensive and also > less time-consuming than trying to find a new medicine. > > "This is more evidence that the pharmaceutical companies are turning > more into marketing companies," Ms. Chockley said. By using > advertising to sell drugs that are essentially line extensions of > existing medicines, she said, the companies have learned to be like > Procter & Gamble, the maker of Tide. > > The institute's study said that the modified medicines were often > more expensive than were older medicines, even if the F.D.A. had > found that they did not offer significant advantages. In 2000, the > average price of a modified drug not given a priority review by the > F.D.A. was about $65 - almost double the price of a drug approved > before 1995, the study said. > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup > http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com >
