From "Dr. Stephen Byrnes' Free E-Zine"
""2. Drug Company Corruption Revealed
from Ralph Moss's CancerDecisions.com Newsletter #007
(October 8, 2001)
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This week, a major pharmaceutical company, TAP Pharmaceutical,
of Lake Forest, Ill., agreed to pay $875 million to settle charges
that it inflated the price of the prostate cancer drug Lupron
and also bribed doctors to prescribe it. A federal indictment
charged one doctor and six TAP managers with conspiracy to give
doctors free drugs, trips to resorts, and free consulting services
in order to obtain their referrals of prescriptions for Lupron
to Medicare program beneficiaries. TAP is a 50-50 venture between
Abbott Laboratories (news/quote), of Abbott Park, Ill., and Takeda
Chemical Industries Ltd. in Japan.(See: NY Times website October
3, 2001).
One can only wonder how widespread such practices are. In the
past, the bribing of doctors with trips and kickbacks was openly
practiced. Today, it is illegal but obviously still goes on.
We need doctors to prescribe drugs based on the likelihood that
it will
benefit us. Too often, they allow themselves to be manipulated
by manufacturers. This creates a climate of uncritical enthusiasm
for pharmaceuticals.
RELATED STORIES:
Drug companies defrauded Medicare of millions
Drug companies neglect research into diseases affecting the poor
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