by Alison Bass | Jul 31, 2008 | Uncategorized
It looks as if the Food and Drug Administration is not the only federal agency in need of a Congress-initiated overhaul. The same Congressmen who recently vowed to strengthen the FDA’s ability to levy fines against drug companies, order drug recalls and restrict...
by Alison Bass | Jul 23, 2008 | Uncategorized
Health Affairs bills itself as “the number one cited health policy journal devoted to publishing original, peer-reviewed research and commentary.” Judging by the journal’s review of my book, Side Effects, its commentary may be original but it sure...
by Alison Bass | Jul 20, 2008 | Uncategorized
A few weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) had asked the FDA to re-examine data it had received from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) way back in 1989 when the drug company first applied for approval of its antidepressant, Paxil. Grassley...
by Alison Bass | Jul 14, 2008 | Uncategorized
Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) is now investigating Martin Keller, chief of psychiatry and the subject of my book,Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial, according to Pharmalot. I first wrote about Keller in a 1996...
by Alison Bass | Jul 14, 2008 | Uncategorized
In recent months, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has shone a spotlight on the hundreds of thousands, in some cases, millions of dollars that drug companies have paid in speaking and consulting fees to prominent psychiatrists who failed to fully disclose these...
by Alison Bass | Jul 4, 2008 | Uncategorized
Doctors on the take to drug companies seem to be dominating the news of late. Business Week recently chronicled the case of two doctors who touted the long-term use of Chantix and other prescription drugs to curb tobacco cravings in an Annals of Internal Medicine...
by Alison Bass | Jun 27, 2008 | Uncategorized
For those of you interested in hearing more about my book Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial, I will be giving a talk at Back Pages bookstore in Waltham on Tuesday, July 1 at 7 p.m. This week, The New England Journal...
by Alison Bass | Jun 23, 2008 | Uncategorized
GlaxoSmithKline is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice for its research and marketing of Paxil in both adults and children, according to the Wall Street Journal. US investigators are particularly interested in what Glaxo knew about the suicidal risks...
by Alison Bass | Jun 15, 2008 | Uncategorized
A perfect storm seems to be gathering over GlaxoSmithKline and research it funded to determine whether its antidepressant drug Paxil was effective in treating depression. In March of this year, Australian researchers published an article in the International Journal...
by Alison Bass | Jun 9, 2008 | Uncategorized
Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) recently released records showing that a prominent psychiatrist whose work led to an exponential increase in the diagnosis of childhood bipolar disorder earned at least $1.6 million from the makers of drugs used to treat this very...
