Profits before People?
Profits before People?

Author: Leonard J. Weber

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2006-04-12

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 0253112109

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The pharmaceutical industry has come under intense criticism in recent years. One poll found that 70% of the sample agreed that drug companies put profits ahead of people. Is this perception accurate? Have drug companies traded ethics for profits and placed people at risk? In Profits before People? Leonard J. Weber exposes pharmaceutical industry practices that have raised ethical concerns. Providing systematic ethical analysis and reflection, he discusses such practices as compensating physicians for serving as speakers or consultants, providing incentives to physicians to enroll patients as subjects in clinical research, and advertising prescription drugs to the public through the mass media. Weber's critique of the industry is stern. While acknowledging that new industry guidelines are promising, he finds much room for improvement in the way drug companies market their products. Yet Weber makes a strong case that profits and ethics can coexist and that they are not mutually exclusive. In an effort to understand the proper place of commerce in disseminating information about new drugs, the book aims to clarify basic responsibilities and to help identify sound ethical practices. It recognizes that ethics and law are not the same, that "having a right" is different from "doing the right thing," and that taking ethics seriously means recognizing that the law does not answer all questions about what is right. Weber points the way to more demanding standards and better practices that might begin to restore confidence in the drug industry.

The Law and Ethics of the Pharmaceutical Industry
The Law and Ethics of the Pharmaceutical Industry

Author: M.N.G. Dukes

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2005-11-04

Total Pages: 429

ISBN-13: 0080459366

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As one of the most massive and successful business sectors, the pharmaceutical industry is a potent force for good in the community, yet its behaviour is frequently questioned: could it serve society at large better than it has done in the recent past? Its own internal ethics, both in business and science, may need a careful reappraisal, as may the extent to which the law - administrative, civil and criminal - succeeds in guiding (and where neccessary contraining) it. The rules of behavior that may be considered to apply to today's pharmaceutical industry have emerged over a very long period and the process goes on. Even the immensely detailed standards for quality, safety and efficacy laid down in drug law and regulation during the second half of the twentieth century have their limitations as tools for ensuring that the public interest is well served. In particular, national and regional regulatory agencies are heavily dependent on industrial data for their decision-making, their standards and competence vary, and even the existing network of agencies does not cover the entire world. What is more there are many areas of law and regulation affecting the industry, concerning for example the pricing of medicines, the conduct of clinical studies, the health protection of workers and concern for the environment. In some fields it is indeed hardly possible to maintain standards through regulation.Professor N.M. Graham Dukes, a physician and lawyer with long term experience in industrial research management, academic study and international drug policy, provides here a powerfully documented analysis into the way this industry thinks, acts, and is viewed, and examines the current trends pointing to change. *Provides a balanced picture of the current role of the pharmaceutical industry in society*Includes indices of conventions, laws, and regulations; as well as judicial and disciplinary cases*This is the only book addressing the legal implications of big pharma activities and ethical standards

Pharmaceutical Ethics
Pharmaceutical Ethics

Author: Sam Salek

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2003-04-04

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 0470855819

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Pharmaceutical Ethics is an important text, which aims to provide the ethical guidelines much needed by the pharmaceutical industry. By focusing on many of the central issues such as the ethical aspects of clinical trials, informed consent, physician or patient choice and pharmaceutical advertising, this text will provide very good coverage of an area which perhaps still lacks coherent instruction. * Covers ethical issues involved in the testing and use of pharmaceuticals on human beings * Investigates issues such as whether choice of drug should lie with the physician or the patient * Looks at a wide variety of subjects connected with pharmaceutical ethics. * Focuses specifically on the issues surrounding the pharmaceutical industry, not medicine in general. * Fulfils an important need in the Pharmaceutical Industry.

Hooked
Hooked

Author: Howard Brody

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 9780742552180

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For decades, medical professionals have betrayed the public's trust by accepting various benefits from the pharmaceutical industry. Both drug company representatives and doctors employ artful spin to portray this behavior positively to the public, and to themselves. In Hooked, Howard Brody argues that we can neither understand the problem, nor propose helpful solutions until we identify the many levels of activity connecting these purportedly noble industries. We can pass laws and enact regulations, but ultimately the medical profession must take responsibility for its own integrity. Hooked is a wake-up call for anyone expecting high quality, ethical medical care.

Promotion of Pharmaceuticals
Promotion of Pharmaceuticals

Author: Julie A Fisher

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 1993-05-06

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 9781560243830

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This important book evaluates trends in pharmaceutical advertising and promotion and addresses many of the perplexing questions involved in assessing drug promotion in our society. It examines legal and ethical issues surrounding pharmaceutical promotions and the benefits of pharmaceutical advertising and promotion and discusses the effectiveness of industry self-regulation and the potential for further legislative or regulatory response. Promotion of Pharmaceuticals offers a framework for understanding the informational effects of pharmaceutical promotion programs from a marketing and economic perspective. It also raises questions regarding pharmaceutical information at the macro level, including: Is pharmaceutical promotion excessive? Are further regulations needed to control the proliferation of misleading messages and to restrict the explicit and implicit persuasive powers of pharmaceutical promotion? What are the implications for the public?s health and social welfare of strict interpretation of the laws regarding dissemination of information on pharmaceuticals?Promotion of Pharmaceuticals suggests a cooperative, not adversarial, relationship between the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry to commit our limited health care resources to facilitating the provision of rational pharmaceutical care. It contains vital information for everyone who wants to make better informed decisions in the complex world of pharmaceuticals. Chapters discuss such relevant topics as regulatory issues for pre- and post-approved drugs, ethical considerations in drug advertising, and FDA and FTC concerns. Promotion of Pharmaceuticals answers questions such as Is pharmaceutical promotion interfering with the doctor-patient relationship? Can good business and good medicine go hand-in-hand? Is the cost of promotion increasing prescription drug prices to an unacceptable level? Other topics include an historical perspective on pharmaceutical advertising and viewpoints from the pharmaceutical leadership. This book is designed for individuals involved in advertising and promotion in the pharmaceutical industry, health care practitioners, consumer advocates, regulators and public policy decision-makers, and other persons involved in the delivery and consumption of pharmaceutical care.

Ethics and the Pharmaceutical Industry
Ethics and the Pharmaceutical Industry

Author: Michael A. Santoro

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2005-10-31

Total Pages: 528

ISBN-13: 1139448579

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Despite the pharmaceutical industry's notable contributions to human progress, including the development of miracle drugs for treating cancer, AIDS, and heart disease, there is a growing tension between the industry and the public. Government officials and social critics have questioned whether the multibillion-dollar industry is fulfilling its social responsibilities. This doubt has been fueled by the national debate over drug pricing and affordable healthcare, and internationally by the battles against epidemic diseases, such as AIDS, in the developing world. Debates are raging over how the industry can and should be expected to act. The contributions in this book by leading figures in industry, government, NGOs, the medical community, and academia discuss and propose solutions to the ethical dilemmas of drug industry behavior. They examine such aspects as the role of intellectual property rights and patent protection, the moral and economic requisites of research and clinical trials, drug pricing, and marketing.