Google Under Criminal Investigation Over Drug Ads: Report

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/13/google-drug-ad-investigation_n_861532.html

Earlier this week, Google revealed in a cryptic filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was setting aside $500 million--equivalent to around one sixth of its revenue in the first quarter of 2011--to resolve a mysterious case with the Department of Justice.

Now, sources say that Google is nearing a settlement with regulators following a criminal investigation into allegations that the search giant profited from selling online ads to illegal pharmacies. These illicit pharmacies may violate U.S. law by peddling expired or counterfeit prescription medication, or selling medicine without a physician's prescription.

The $500 million Google may be required to pay would be unprecedented: According to the Wall Street Journal, "A payment of that size would be among the highest penalties paid by companies in disputes with the U.S. government."

Though Google has attempted to crack down on rogue pharmacies in the past--the company filed a suit against illegal prescription drug sellers last year and now requires pharmacies to receive accreditation before purchasing ads--people "familiar with the matter" said investigators are probing "the extent to which Google knowingly turned a blind eye to the alleged illicit activities of some of its advertisers—and how much executives knew," notes the Journal.

Google and the Department of Justice have declined to comment on the investigation. Google co-founder Sergey Brin dodged a question on the probe during Google's I/O conference.

"Luckily, since we changed roles a few months ago, I don't have to deal with filings, and the DOJ, the SEC or other acronyms," Brin said, according to the Journal.

The investigation could have far-reaching implications for Google's lucrative ad business.

We wonder if a lot of people who find their substance of choice is unavailable will be forced to go off their meds... that could be disastrous if done "cold turkey". But information on how to withdraw from psychotropic meds without doing yourself further harm is on this site. Check out our LINKS in the right-hand column - you will find info on halting antidepressants/SSRI's by Dr. David Healey and the excellent work by Dr. Heather Ashton on getting off Benzos - and other resources.

The Integrity in Science Project

A searchable database reveals the corporate interests behind science studies.

"Our Mission
Over the last thirty years, the commercialization of science in the United States and around the world has increased dramatically. The revolution in genetics, patent protections for bioengineered molecules, laws strengthening intellectual property rights, and the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act authorizing licensing and patenting of results from federally-sponsored research created new incentives for scientists, clinicians, and academic institutions to join forces with for-profit industry in an unprecedented array of entrepreneurial activities.

Although many have cheered partnerships between industry and the research community, it is also acknowledged that they entail conflicts of interest that may compromise the judgment of trusted professionals, the credibility of research institutions and scientific journals, the safety and transparency of human subjects research, the norms of free inquiry, and the legitimacy of science-based policy.

For example:

* There is strong evidence that researchers’ financial ties to chemical, pharmaceutical, or tobacco manufacturers directly influence their published positions in supporting the benefit or downplaying the harm of the manufacturers’ product.
* A growing body of evidence indicates that pharmaceutical industry gifts and inducements bias clinicians’ judgments and influence doctors’ prescribing practices.
* There are well-known cases of industry seeking to discredit or prevent the publication of research results that are critical of its products.
* Studies of life-science faculty indicate that researchers with industry funding are more likely to withhold research results in order to secure commercial advantage.
* Increasingly, the same academic institutions that are responsible for oversight of scientific integrity and human subjects protection are entering financial relationships with the industries whose product-evaluations they oversee.

In response to the commercialization of science and the growing problem of conflicts of interest, the Integrity in Science Project seeks to:

* raise awareness about the role that corporate funding and other corporate interests play in scientific research, oversight, and publication;
* investigate and publicize conflicts of interest and other potentially destructive influences of industry-sponsored science;
* advocate for full disclosure of funding sources by individuals, governmental and non-governmental organizations that conduct, regulate, or provide oversight of scientific investigation or promote specific scientific findings;
* encourage policy-makers at all levels of government to seek balance on expert advisory committees and to provide public, web-based access to conflict-of-interest information collected in the course of committee formation;
* encourage journalists to routinely ask scientists and others about their possible conflicts of interests and to provide this information to the public.


Link

F.D.A. Reveals It Fell to a Push by Lawmakers

F.D.A. Reveals It Fell to a Push by Lawmakers

By GARDINER HARRIS and DAVID M. HALBFINGER
Published: September 24, 2009

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that four New Jersey congressmen and its own former commissioner unduly influenced the process that led to its decision last year to approve a patch for injured knees, an approval it is now revisiting.

The agency’s scientific reviewers repeatedly and unanimously over many years decided that the device, known as Menaflex and manufactured by ReGen Biologics Inc., was unsafe because the device often failed, forcing patients to get another operation.

But after receiving what an F.D.A. report described as “extreme,” “unusual” and persistent pressure from four Democrats from New Jersey — Senators Robert Menendez and Frank R. Lautenberg and Representatives Frank Pallone Jr. and Steven R. Rothman — agency managers overruled the scientists and approved the device for sale in December.

All four legislators made their inquiries within a few months of receiving significant campaign contributions from ReGen, which is based in New Jersey, but all said they had acted appropriately and were not influenced by the money. Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, the former drug agency’s commissioner, said he had acted properly.

The agency has never before publicly questioned the process behind one of its approvals, never admitted that a regulatory decision was influenced by politics, and never accused a former commissioner of questionable conduct.

“The message here is that there were problems with the integrity of F.D.A.’s decision-making process that have solutions,” Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, the agency’s principal deputy commissioner, said in a conference call with reporters.

Social Utility: How Much Are Grandma and Grandpa Worth?

By Dr. Russell Blaylock, author of EXCITOTOXINS - THE TASTE THAT KILLS
A thought-provoking essay. The ideas presented here apply to any individuals who are older, disabled or different.
Link
Are the prime beneficiaries of sacrifice of today's "useless eaters" not persons, society in general or even the State - but Corporations?

Trailer from LOGAN'S RUN, a 1976 sci-fi film set in a dystopia where aging persons are culled - at 30:

More on the "old killed for benefit of young" debate in the arts is here.

Another way to profit from the elderly: Retired Texas couple held in care as "incompetent" while guardian and state clean out their assets.
News link

Wyeth's Ghostwritten Documents to be Unsealed

Pirates from Stevenson's KIDNAPPED by N.C. Wyeth
Wyeth's Ghostwritten Documents to be Unsealed
NYT article - PDF
Judge's order to unseal
And here is a news release regarding $22 Million payouts to doctors by Lilly: Link

25 Shocking Facts About the Pharmaceutical Industry

25 Shocking Facts About the Pharmaceutical Industry

"Researching and snagging an adequate, wallet-friendly health care plan is tough these days, despite its high-profile presence in political debates. A large part of the controversy over expensive health costs stems from criticism of high-priced medications marketed by powerful pharmaceutical companies. From Medicare fraud to CEOs worth billions of dollars, big drug companies are accused of putting profits above patients, spinning false PR campaigns and more. We've uncovered 25 of the most shocking facts about the pharmaceutical industry in this list.

1. The price of drugs is increasing faster than anything else a patient pays for: Marcia Angell writes in her book The Truth About Drug Companies that "drugs are the fastest-growing part of the health care bill which itself is rising at an alarming rate." Dr. Angell argues that patients are spending more on drugs simply because they are being prescribed more drugs than ever before and that "those drugs are more likely to be expensive new ones instead of older, cheaper ones, and that the prices of the most heavily prescribed drugs are routinely jacked up, sometimes several times a year."
2. Your health care provider may have an ulterior motive behind your prescription: In 2007, the St. Petersburg Times reported that drug reps often give gifts to convince medical professionals to prescribe the medications that they represent. Dr. James P. Orlowski tries to teach his students that interaction with drug reps is not in the best interests of patients. Even though many doctors may believe solicitation from drug reps is unethical or at the very least impractical, gifts like free meals, pens, posters, books, and free samples are offered to physicians in an effort to influence their prescription practices.
3. Pharmaceutical companies spend more on marketing than research: According to ScienceDaily, a "new study by two York University researchers estimates the U.S. pharmaceutical industry spends almost twice as much on promotion as it does on research and development." Despite pharmaceutical companies' claims that Americans pay such high prices for prescription medications because they're really paying for research and development costs, the industry spent $33.5 billion on promotion costs in 2004...."
From Nursing Online Education Database. Read the other 22 shocking facts at this Link
And using "new media", Pharma is coming up with new ways to influence consumers to buy - all the time. Link
Drug makers cash in on DC lobbying
Politicians seek curb to drug ads
Pharma lobbying, from OpenSecrets; click to see larger version

Are you wondering who's running the show - and the country?
You may find some surprising answers at Congrelate.

CONTACT your Congressperson
here.

Bill Moyers & Michael Winship: Some Choice Words For "The Select Few"

Image from TRUTHOUT


From Bill Moyers' site:

"If you want to know what really matters in Washington, don't go to Capitol Hill for one of those hearings, or pay attention to those staged White House "town meetings.” They’re just for show. What really happens – the serious business of Washington – happens in the shadows, out of sight, off the record. Only occasionally – and usually only because someone high up stumbles -- do we get a glimpse of just how pervasive the corruption has become.

Case in point: Katharine Weymouth, the publisher of THE WASHINGTON POST – one of the most powerful people in DC – invited top officials from the White House, the Cabinet and Congress to her home for an intimate, off-the-record dinner to discuss health care reform with some of her reporters and editors covering the story.

But CEO’s and lobbyists from the health care industry were invited, too, provided they forked over $25,000 a head – or up to a quarter of a million if they want to sponsor a whole series of these cozy get-togethers. And what is the inducement offered? Nothing less, the invitation read, than “an exclusive opportunity to participate in the health-care reform debate among the select few who will get it done.”

The invitation reminds the CEO’s and lobbyists that they will be buying access to “those powerful few in business and policy making who are forwarding, legislating and reporting on the issues…

"Spirited? Yes. Confrontational? No." The invitation promises this private, intimate and off-the-record dinner is an extension “of THE WASHINGTON POST brand of journalistic inquiry into the issues, a unique opportunity for stakeholders to hear and be heard.”

Let that sink in. In this case, the “stakeholders” in health care reform do not include the rabble – the folks across the country who actually need quality health care but can’t afford it. If any of them showed up at the kitchen door on the night of this little soiree, the bouncer would drop kick them beyond the Beltway.

No, before you can cross the threshold to reach “the select few who will actually get it done,” you must first cross the palm of some outstretched hand."

Link

Update: Moyers reveals insurance industry's secret plan to attack Michael Moore and "Sicko".

Vioxx: A Mercky Story

"After paying out almost $5 billion in the US, Merck is defending a class action in Australia where a journal that never was came to light. Meanwhile in the UK victims see no prospect of compensation - writes Prof. Peter Saunders"

There are about 10,000 people in the United Kingdom who believe they are due compensation for damages they suffered while on Merck's Vioxx. These persons cannot get legal aid and if they lose they will have to pay Merck’s costs. Merck has deep pockets so the company has effectively been handed a default victory by the British government. However, in Australia, 1000 Vioxx users are bringing a class action to trial, and the outcome there may be quite different.
Link

Bloomberg: NAMI to be probed re Pharma ties

Grassley Probes Financing of Advocacy Group for Mental Health
By Nicole Gaouette

April 6 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senator Charles Grassley expanded his investigation into drug company influence on the practice of medicine by asking a nonprofit mental-health- advocacy group about its funding.

In a letter sent today to the National Alliance for Mental Illness, based in Arlington, Virginia, Grassley asked the nonprofit group to disclose any financial backing from drug companies or from foundations created by the industry.

The Iowa Republican, in a series of hearings and investigations, has focused on financial ties between the drug industry, doctors and academic institutions. His efforts have led New York-based Pfizer Inc. to begin disclosing consulting payments to U.S. doctors, and Harvard Medical School in Boston to reexamine its conflict-of-interest policies. Now Grassley is expanding his inquiries to nonprofit groups.

“I have come to understand that money from the pharmaceutical industry shapes the practices of nonprofit organizations which purport to be independent in their viewpoints and actions,” Grassley wrote in his letter.

Officials at the National Alliance for Mental Illness didn’t return calls for comment.

Link

Thank Senator Grassley - or contact him with your concerns - here.

Read the Bonkers Institute's response to Senator Grassley's initiative here.

The Biology of Mental Disorders

This would be funny if it were not so sad. There is very little biology in this book. Have a look through yourself. We think you'll find there is a lot on government policy (pork) in the document, though.

The Biology of Mental Disorders

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Academic Work brain memory

Pharma Corruption: Greed Kills the Golden Goose

March 5, 2009: Globe and Mail columnist claims there is no Big Pharma conspiracy and that medicine is basically good

Nothing to see here, move along...



March 28, 2009:
Harvard shrinks issued subpoenas












Philip Dawdy of http://www.furiousseasons.com sums it up nicely:
"Controversial Harvard child psychiatrist Joseph Biederman and his colleagues Tim Wilens and Thomas Spencer were named in a federal subpoena yesterday. The trio have all pulled in millions from pharma companies while also doing federally-funded research, a potentially illegal conflict of interest which was allegedly improperly reported. They are all being investigated by their university and NIH.
The subpoena, issued by the US Attorney for Eastern Massachusetts, was served on Fletch Trammel, an attorney representing various states attorneys general and other plaintiffs in cases against pharma companies over pushing antipsychotics for use in children and adults. Apparently, the feds want whatever documents and depositions Trammel has gathered on the three."

Nothing to see, yet, but we hear the crash of distant cash registers, and expect fireworks and a feast of roast goose soon.

Zyprexa: Eli Lilly's Billion Dollar Lies

NYT: Crackdown on Doctors Who Take Kickbacks

'A common problem in illegal drug and device marketing cases is doctors’ willingness to delude themselves into thinking that cash, lucrative trips and other kickbacks do not affect them, said Mr. Morris, the chief counsel.

“Somehow physicians think they’re different from the rest of us,” Mr. Morris said. “But money works on them just like everybody else.”

Mr. Sullivan, the United States attorney, said officials hoped to send a strong message to doctors. “I have been shocked at what appears to be willful blindness by folks in the physician community to the criminal conduct that corrupts the patient-physician relationship,” he said.'
Link

Death Cab for Lilly

'Eli Lilly & Company's rap sheet as a public menace is so long that for Lilly watchers to overcome the "banality-of-Lilly-sleaziness" phenomenon, the drug company must break some type of record measuring egregiousness. Lilly obliged earlier this year, receiving the largest criminal fine ever imposed on a corporation.

If Americans are ever going to revoke the publicly granted charters of reckless, giant corporations -- well within our rights -- we might want to get the ball rolling with Lilly, whose recent actions appalled even the mainstream media. And with Lilly's chums, the Bush family, out of power, now might be the right time.

On January 15, 2009, Lilly pled guilty to charges that it had illegally marketed its blockbuster drug Zyprexa for unapproved uses to children and the elderly, two populations especially vulnerable to its dangerous side effect. Lilly plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge and agreed to pay $1.42 billion, which included $615 million to end the criminal investigation and approximately $800 million to settle the civil case.

One of the eight whistle-blowers in this case, former Lilly sales representative Robert Rudolph, says the settlement will not completely change Lilly's business practices, and he wants jail time for executives. "You have to remember, with Zyprexa," said Rudolph, "people lost their lives."'

The case for giving Eli Lilly the corporate death penalty

Stories of Corruption and Big Pharma

"The New York Times looks at three books that basically focus on the same thing – how we’ve been co-opted into believing that there is “a pill for every ill” by billion dollar drug companies, which bolster favorable opinion from leading medical authorities by greasing the wheels."
Link

Damaged By Pharma? Call Rules Committee Members Now!

Been Damaged By Pharma? Call Rules Committee Members Now!
ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP)
Promoting Openness, Full Disclosure, and Accountability
http://www.ahrp.org and http://ahrp.blogspot.com


Call Members Of The Rules Committee Now!

FYI

Below, the National Whistleblower's Center is asking advocates to call members of the House Rules Committee asking them to vote for a National Whistleblower's Protection Law. [text below]

Absent from the legislative language developed by the Whistleblower's Center is inclusion of protection for citizens who are victimized by hazardous medical products. Hundreds of thousands of citizens suffer serious disabling harm--many are killed--by toxic prescription drugs and defective medical devices.

Whistleblower legislation cannot be blind to the suffering caused by corrupt practices by corporations and /or government officials.

Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav
212-595-8974
veracare@ahrp.org



From: "National Whistleblowers Center"
mw@whistleblowers.org
Date: January 27, 2009 1:12:30 PM EST
To: "Stephen Sheller" sasheller@sheller.com
Subject: Call Members Of The Rules Committee Now!
Reply-To: "National Whistleblowers Center" mw@whistleblowers.org

Dear Active Member,

Contact the Congressional Rules Committee to urge them to vote for federal whistleblower protection in the stimulus bill. It is critical that you call Rules Committee members now!

Below is a list of the Rules Committee members and their office phone numbers. Please call them now and tell them to vote for oversight and accountability today!

Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY) - (202) 225-3615

James P. Mc Govern (D-MA) - (202) 225-6101

Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) (202) 225-1313

Doris O. Masui (D-CA) (202) 225-7163

Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) (202) 225-6131

Michael Arcuri (D-NY) (202) 225-1891

Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) (202) 225-2645

Chellie Pingree (D-ME) (202) 225-6116

Jared Polis (D-CO) (202) 225-2161

David Dreier (D-CA) (202) 225-2305

Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) (202) 225-4211

Pete Sessions (R-TX) (202) 225-2231

Virginia Foxx (R-NC) (202) 225-2071

Thank you!

Stephen M. Kohn
President
National Whistleblowers Center

PETITION FOR A NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION ACT

WHEREAS, the adequate protection of employee whistleblowers is essential to ensure that the American people know about the misconduct of their elected officials;

WHEREAS, employee whistleblowers have saved the taxpayers billions of dollars;

WHEREAS reports made by employee whistleblowers exposed numerous failures in the "war on terror";

WHEREAS, employee whistleblowers serve the public interest by disclosing violations of law, fraud against investors and threats to the environment and public health and safety;

WHEREAS, there are currently no federal protections for employees who expose drug safety violations, election fraud, medical misconduct, food safety violations, pesticide abuses, consumer fraud and violations of numerous other laws designed to protect the American public;

WHEREAS, Congress has not enacted a comprehensive national whistleblower protection law akin to the national laws enacted to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, race, age, religion or disability;

BE IT RESOLVED, that the undersigned petitioners hereby call upon the Congress of the United States to pass a National Whistleblower Protection Act designed to prevent retaliation against employees who blow the whistle on violations of law and threats to the public health and safety;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that any National Whistleblower Protection Act provide whistleblowers with a level of protection that is at least equal to the protections currently afforded all employees under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (the law which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin), and the false claims act.


Related Links:
* FDA Protection Failure - Drug Safety Crisis
Vera Hassner Sharav, AHRP/Gardiner Harris, New York Times

How the Bailout Benefits Big Pharma - and YOU Will Pay For It

At about the 1:20 mark, Mr. Kucinich mentions Pfizer's $68 Billion buyout of Wyeth - for which YOU will pay. The New York times article link is here.

Stop Bill C-51 Campaign Revived

It's baaaaack...Canada's vitamin-banning Bill C-51 has been reworked as Bill C-6.


Stop Bill C-51 -- CODEX ALIMENTARIUS -- Call to Action from Anonymai on Vimeo.

Eli Lilly - Guilty!

Eli Lilly and Company Agrees to Pay $1.415 Billion to Resolve Allegations
of Off-label Promotion of Zyprexa
$515 Million Criminal Fine Is Largest Individual Corporate Criminal Fine in History; Civil
Settlement up to $800 Million
American pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company today agreed to plead guilty and pay $1.415 billion for
promoting its drug Zyprexa for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of
Justice announced today. This resolution includes a criminal fine of $515 million, the largest ever in a health care
case, and the largest criminal fine for an individual corporation ever imposed in a United States criminal
prosecution of any kind. Eli Lilly will also pay up to $800 million in a civil settlement with the federal government
and the states.
Eli Lilly agreed to enter a global resolution with the United States to resolve criminal and civil allegations that
it promoted its antipsychotic drug Zyprexa for uses not approved by the FDA, the Department said. Such
unapproved uses are also known as "off-label" uses because they are not included in the drug’s FDA approved
product label.
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Gregory G. Katsas and acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern
District of Pennsylvania Laurie Magid today announced the filing of a criminal information against Eli Lilly for
promoting Zyprexa for uses not approved by the FDA. Eli Lilly, headquartered in Indianapolis, is charged in the
information with promoting Zyprexa for such off-label or unapproved uses as treatment for dementia, including
Alzheimer’s dementia, in elderly people.
The company has signed a plea agreement admitting its guilt to a misdemeanor criminal charge. Eli Lilly also
signed a civil settlement to resolve civil claims that by marketing Zyprexa for unapproved uses, it caused false
claims for payment to be submitted to federal insurance programs such as Medicaid, TRICARE and the Federal
Employee Health Benefits Program, none of which provided coverage for such off-label uses.
Department of Justice document is here.

A deep bow of respect to investigative journalist Philip Dawdy, without whose dedication and personal sacrifices this result might never have been reached. Visit him at Furious Seasons.

Drug Companies and Doctors: Marcia Angell

For two decades, Marcia Angell was the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine. Slowly and with reluctance she came to realize the corruption in Big Pharma, and has written extensively about it.

These two articles sum up many of the problems she found in the academic-industrial complex, and are essential reading for those in the health field - and those who use their services.
Jan. 2009:
Drug Companies and Doctors: A Story of Corruption
A 2004 article, here
The Truth About Drug Companies

UPDATE: Get The Truth About Drug Companies immediately - e-download for a very reasonable cost
here