The risk we’ll fall short of essential medicines has increased dramatically over the past decade, largely due to policy shifts in patent regulation and a boom in pharmaceutical innovation that began in…
The TGA-banned painkillers are no more effective than paracetamol for acute pain.
Cayusa/Flickr
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal has granted pharmaceutical company Aspen Pharmacare a legal stay against the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s (TGA) ban on some of its products.
The company took…
Companies too often replace genuine innovation with regulatory shenanigans.
eMagineArt.com
IDEAS AND OWNERSHIP: The concept of protecting ideas and innovation by legal means dates back to antiquity. But many of our existing laws are under strain, their suitability and ultimate purpose called…
Pharmaceutical companies are working in partnership with academia to bring drug candidates to clinical development.
Spark/Flickr
By Guy Krippner, Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute
The 2008 global financial crisis and an impending “patent cliff” have had a profound impact on the profitability of the pharmaceutical industry – they have made it change how it works. So, to maintain…
Repositioning a drug affords pharmaceutical companies the opportunity to enhance the return on their initial investment.
bitzi/flickr
Many pharmaceutical companies are having to re-examine their product portfolio because of the difficult economic climate. New uses for established drugs affords a way for these companies to maximise financial…
The increasing trend of outsourcing drug production is leading to shortages in cancer drugs.
Flickr
It’s the pharmaceutical industry equivalent of the butterfly effect: a drug manufacturing plant in Ohio shuts down production after regulators on two continents uncover contamination problems. Suddenly…
It depends on the drug, how it's been stored and whether the pack has been opened.
saveas new
It’s late in the night. And after a long day at work, you have a splitting headache. You rattle around in the bottom drawer of the bathroom vanity to find a packet of paracetamol tablets you know are hiding…
Vitamins, minerals and herbal therapies should live up to the claims on their packaging.
Peter Sunna
Two out of three Australians use complementary medicines to boost their nutrition, alleviate various symptoms and improve their overall health and well-being. There are around 10,000 products to choose…
Pharmaceuticals giant Merck has maintained a low-profile, despite a series of major law suits.
AAP
Welcome to “The most powerful companies you’ve never heard of” – an ongoing series from The Conversation that sheds light on big companies with low profiles. Today, Deakin University’s Philip Soos examines…
Doctors' wining and dining by drug companies distort prescribing patterns and may influence them to recommend less-than-ideal drugs.
PhillipC/Flickr
This week Radio National’s Background Briefing looks at how pharmaceutical companies market their products to doctors.
The program is presented by Ray Moynihan, an award-winning journalist, columnist…
It’s even possible to get relief from symptoms when knowingly taking a placebo.
Flickr/JLA Kliche
If you took a pill that had been prescribed to treat your illness and it alleviated your symptoms, that means the medicine worked – right?
What if you took a complementary medicine from a health food…
Better ways to finance pharmaceutical research and development could make medicines more accessible.
Images_of_Money
Non-communicable diseases – Philip Soos examines the importance of essential drugs and technologies to the world’s poor, a priority action area noted by the Lancet NCD Action Group and the NCD Alliance…
The biological differences between men and women extend far beyond the obvious reproductive ones.
rbrwr/flickr
Personalised medication is one of the ultimate goals of modern medicine although it’s still some way off. But the promise of gender-specific medicines means we may soon be halfway there.
In its purest…
Oxytocin can actually decrease trust and enhance negative emotions.
MichaelKuhn
Imagine for a moment that you could gain everyone’s trust in an instant – you could sell more, love more and accomplish more than you ever imagined. Or so says the online marketing spiel for the drug oxytocin…
They may have the same active ingredient, but fillers, colours and lubricants may vary.
Flickr/Harsh Vardhan
“Would you like the generic brand of that medicine?” It’s a question you’ve probably been asked, or at least heard, when picking up a prescription at your local pharmacy.
It’s likely you were told the…
Federal governments should fund pharmaceutical research and development.
AAP
Over the last couple of decades, the pharmaceutical industry has come under attack for its perceived shortcomings amid claims that it’s greedy, profiteering nature has caused significant harm.
However…
There's growing pressure on the TGA to disclose details of its pre-market reviews of approved medications.
Tom Varco/Wikimedia commons
The latest report on Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) activities – this one concerning transparency – has just been made public, two weeks after it was submitted to the government.
At least this…
Almost a third of professional musicians regularly take medication to manage their performance anxiety.
Flickr/kronik
“One of the most exhilarating experiences I know of is performing in public, especially when there is a magnificent piano under my fingers, great music in my head, and the feeling that there are no technical…
The government has made a mistake by not listing pain drug Targin on the PBS.
J Hawk
In an attempt to contain growing health costs, the Australian Government has resisted recommendations to subsidise the pain medication Targin on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule.
Not only is this…
Researches have uncovered a vital piece of the anti-malaria puzzle.
Larah McElroy
More than 200 million people are infected annually with the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, and around 800,000 people die every year of the mosquito-borne disease, most of them children.
As reported…
Decisions about listing medicines on the PBS can't be ad hoc.
The fanfare around Health Minister Nicola Roxon’s announcement yesterday that the government would fund 13 new medicines on the PBS is a reminder of the power and influence involved in the selection and…
Are we treating normal sadness as a clinical disorder?
Gatis Gribusts
It’s normal to feel down in the dumps from time to time, so drawing a line between low moods and mental illness is understandably fraught.
But are health professionals treating normal sadness as a clinical…
