Not your typical kind of GOSSIP

After 19 years on the market, Advastin by Genentech will face its final scrutiny on September 17^th. On that Friday the FDA will either tell Genentech they have wasted millions of dollars in breast cancer research or applaud them with an ultimate pay day. No one really knows what the FDA will decide, sometimes I wonder if the decision is made as they walk through the doors of the conference room.

But in any case, this story is exactly the type of thing that keeps me coming back to pharmagossip, short and sweet interesting updates on what is happening with some of the drugs on the market. Although pharma gossip seems like an outsider to the pharmaceutical world, his insights are thought provoking and material rare. His articles are very uncommon, they are definitely pieces I wouldn’t come across when running around in yahoo or google. And the best feature of pharmagossip is his ability to update frequently (As frequent as a few posts in a single day). It seems in the last decade Advastin went through several clinical trials and received approval from the FDA to be administered for colon and lung cancer treatment. Then before you knew it, Genentech jumped on the bandwagon of breast cancer treatment with Advastin. But hit a roadblock when the FDA only “granted accelerated temporary approval.”

What?! What does “temporary approval“ even mean? Use the drug now, but enjoy the side effects of near death experience later? That is just ridiculous. Well, ultimately the FDA’s decision is the only decision that matters, so I hope for the sake of all the mothers, sisters, and friends out there, the trials and testing goes well. I’ll keep my fingers crossed on Sept. 17^th.

          Now let’s turn our heads to some of the politics faced in this industry of ethics and morals versus financial gain. And I mean LOTS of financial gain. Less than two weeks ago Dr. Joseph Hammag defended himself and Pfizer against allegations of swindling. A conference was arranged solely to discuss the so called “unavoidable” illegal activity that “sometimes” take place in the drug industry. Here’s the cliff notes version of the white collar crime. Drug reps from pharmaceutical manufacturers scout out doctors and essentially anyone with a prescription pad and persuade them to prescribe drugs for treatments that have yet to be approved by the FDA. And what’s in it for the doctors you say? Well, their bank accounts mysteriously receive a new cash flow that cannot be explained by their fixed annual salaries. But anyhow, what I ultimately wanted to say is thanks PharmaGossip, for letting me know the pharm industry has some pretty morally bankrupt individuals. I’ll do my best to stay clear of them next year. Also, I loved the picture of the old white man with the guilty looking smile, very cliché and very politically correct too.

            Intellectually stimulating and a great attention to detail are just a few ways I’d describe PharmaGossip. But gossip probably not, I’d argue entertaining and informative. As I begin my own blog, I intend to use Pharmagossip as a starting foundation. I’ll add things here and there, and take away some of the unnecessary fluff. I would also probably go with a more personal touch and express my opinions with more bang. After all, responses to my spiel would be quite exciting.  And I’ll attempt to cater to a larger audience and not just the stay at home moms and unemployed.  Maybe I’ll even make it to Technorati. Just you wait.