Editorial: Wyeth is at it again! Women are being cheated of estriol and Medicaid of millions of dollars

Headlines throughout the pharmaceutical media this week and the Wall Street Journal (5/19) reports "The Justice Department and 16 states joined two whistleblower lawsuits alleging that Wyeth defrauded the government by offering discounts to hospitals on two of its drugs that it didn't offer to Medicaid." The suits allege "that Wyeth avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in rebates to state Medicaid programs for its Protonix Oral and Protonix IV acid-reflux drugs." By law, manufacturers of brand-name drugs are required to offer the same rebates to state Medicaid programs that they provide to other customers.

In looking at www.wyeth.com/aboutwyeth/history, Wyeth began after the Civil War when John and Frank Wyeth opened a drug store in Philadelphia. The website goes on to state that their history has been one of innovation and development of unique methods of mass-producing quality medicines.

It goes on to state that "the people of Wyeth are united by a common mission and SHARED VALUES�."

It states they will achieve their "vision" by being accountable for:

      -making trust, quality, INTEGRITY and excellence hallmarks of the way we do business.

Not only was the government (FDA) duped by Wyeth into making it extremely difficult to compound using estriol, alleging that it was not proven to be safe or effective while at the same time marketing estriol in other countries in the world, but they have been cheating the very same government out of millions of dollars.

I'm sure that today John and Frank Wyeth are proud of the company they founded!?


Loyd V. Allen, Jr., PhD, RPh
Editor-in-Chief

Pfizer in 2 Deals to Expand Generics, Other Sales
Pfizer has enhanced its partnership with an Indian generic drug maker and initiated a new relationship with another Indian maker of injectables. Pfizer will market 15 injected, brand-name drugs that have lost patent protection in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Included are drugs with Claris Lifesciences for pain, infections, cancer and anesthesia and will be marketed to hospitals. Pfizer is also expanding a recent relationship with India's Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. to produce and sell generic drugs -- including about 40 solid oral dosage forms and a dozen injected drugs.
www.therapeuticsdaily.com/news/article.cfm?contentValue=1917277&contentType=sentryarticle&channelID=33

FDA Chief Halts Use of Gift Cards, Other Employee Incentives
The FDA head has suspended the agency's use of gift cards and other informal bonuses to employees after a report that the FDA had awarded a $41,030 contract last month to a company to supply the cards.

Government agencies issue the cards and other kinds of informal bonuses. The FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health had arranged to buy 160 of the cards at $250 apiece to reward employees.

The suspension was announced after The Washington Post's Government Inc. blog published details of the April contract.

Dr. Joshua Sharfstein (FDA's acting commissioner) stated that he wanted to learn more about the criteria for such an award, how the cards were acquired, and the precautions taken by agency officials to ensure the cards are properly awarded. He said that about 15 percent of FDA's employees received gift cards last year.

Following several years of troubles for the FDA, some lawmakers have questioned management of the agency's budget and its allocation of resources, saying an overhaul was needed.

Gift-card bonuses are allowed under Office of Personnel Management rules, as long as they are of "nominal value" and are treated as taxable income. The cards are intended to reward good work.

Sharfstein has called for an internal group to "review all compensation flexibilities and pay incentives in order to develop further guidance" before handing out any more cards.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/20/AR2009052003587.html

Introduction to Pharmaceutical Calculations
Second Edition
Rees JA, Smith I, Smith B
London, UK: Pharmaceutical Press; 2005

This is a good, basic text in pharmaceutical calculations with a unique approach to solving problems. It is arranged in a logical and straightforward manner with logical presentations and example problems. It uses the "proportional approach," which involves the initial organization of given and required data from the question or situation into proportional sets, allowing the individual to determine exactly what is required by the question. After setting up the proportional set, simple algebra can be used to obtain the unknown value. Although limited in depth, this book is very good for pharmacy students, pharmacy technicians, and as a review in pharmaceutical calculations.

Memorial Day is a holiday of the United States that is observed on the last Monday of May (May 25, 2009). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War), it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action.

Time Well Spent
Memorial Day weekend is a great time to spend with family and friends.