PharmaCheckSA

#MedicalMisconduct   #Corruption My third installment on corruption in the pharmaceutical trade - AstraZeneca Ronald Gibson 19 July 2017 To clarify the facts below, only transgressions relating to gross ethical and legal matters are included. Civil cases are not mentioned as the outcomes are mostly based on a jury system and may be open to emotional interpretation. This pharmaceutical giant is based in London, UK, the result of a merger between Zeneca, and Sweden’s Astra AB in 1999. This company has a vast portfolio of products in the cancer, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, infection, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation fields. AstraZeneca is one of the top 5 pharmaceutical companies in the world, with manufacturing facilities in 19 countries, 9 Research and Development sites, and sales in over 100 countries with total revenue for 2016 stated as $23 Billion. 1. 2003 - Federal officials announced that AstraZeneca had pleaded guilty to criminal and civil charges relat...

#MedicalMisconduct #Abbott Corruption in the pharmaceutical trade – Abbot Laboratories By Ronald Gibson 17 July 2017 Abbott Alkaloidal Company was founded in 1888 by Dr Wallace Calvin Abbott. This fledgling company innovated the use of the active molecules in medicinal plants, most notably alkaloids like morphine, strychnine, quinine, and codeine, into dosimetric granules, much like some naturopathic compounds  of today. Abbott quickly spread its wings into an international company with many diverse products, by 1965 establishing interests in Canada, Pakistan, Japan, Europe and India, with Abbott at present being the largest healthcare products company in India. The first official smudge in their record occurred in 1966 when, according to Lester Grinspoon and Peter Hedblom’s book, “The Speed Culture: Amphetamine Use and Abuse in America”, Abbott sold two million doses worth of methamphetamine in powder form to a Long Island criminal dealer. It seems Abbo...

#MedicalMisconduct - Novartis Misconduct in the Pharmaceutical Sector - Novartis By Ronald Gibson 12 July 2017 As the South African Government and Novartis recently signed a memorandum of understanding relating to pharmaceutical research for the development of new medicinal compounds in South Africa, I decided to do my first article covering misconduct in the pharmaceutical sector about Novartis, as we need to have an idea of the ethics we might expect from them. I will mainly focus on information related to their business dealings in the USA, as there are quite a few Government Oversight institutions and non-profit consumer protection bodies that keep track of companies in the USA. Novartis was formed in 1996 after the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz. Both these companies started off in the production of synthetic fabric dyes, later branching off into pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals. During the merger the pharmaceutical and agrochemical divisions of both companies fo...

Legalizing Biopiracy in South Africa #Cams #BioPiracy #ConnectingTheDots This brilliantly researched article goes a long way in showing how different pieces of legislation are being used to lay the ground for Biopiracy at a grand scale in South Africa, in the process removing or transgressing many basic human rights as determined by UN declarations and placing our knowledge and raw materials of traditional healing in the hands of large corporations. The recent deal between Novartis and the SA government is but another link in the chain. https://uspiked.com/justice/governance/2016/07/07/grabbing-the-roots/ 

Generic Drug Wars #GenericDrugs #PharmaWars Pharmaceutic Ethics - Or the lack of it. This article accurately frames the mind set of the industry that the South African government has sacrificed its citizens to with the new Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Act coming into effect. As Suresh Kumar, a member of the Sanofi executive committee put it so eloquently in 2016 when interviewed about the rapidly escalating prices of their drugs: “Why are we doing this? Everybody has to make money. Should it be surprising? We do serve different stakeholders." Clearly the shareholders and upper management compensation features at the top of the list, with little regards to the consumer that actually enables them to exist. The expression "honor among thieves" is definitely not applicable in the pharmaceutical trade. https://www.statnews.com/2017/06/16/generic-drugs-biosimilars-pharma/

Drug Warning: Seroquel #DrugWarning #OffLabelPrescriptions I recently shared an article indicating the number of natural medicines that were removed from the shelves in Canada after their laws basically outlawed CAMs medicines. This is the paradigm they have exchanged that for. This drug was NOT approved for insomnia for a good reason, and has severe side effects, yet became the go-to option. Ironically it is not illegal for a medical professional to prescribe "off label", but it is illegal to advertise off label use. It is left to the discretion of the doctor that did not even bother to read the literature, often influenced by whatever spiel the pharmaceutical rep presented. How ironic that a drug is prescribed for one of its adverse effects with total disregard for the warnings on the package inserts. The whole mindset of the medical trade insulting Complimentary Medicine, yet prescribing off label or using drugs derived from CAMs medicines smacks of hypocrisy. http...

#WaronCannabis #USA Found on Facebook Appropriate