Industry-Funded Breast Cancer Trials Show More Positive Results

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Gardner ◽  
Jean McMahon
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Clinical Research ◽  
Trial Design ◽  
Treatment Trials ◽  
Industry Sponsorship ◽  
Drug Companies ◽  
Cancer Trials ◽  
New Research ◽  
Positive Results

New research on pharmaceutical-industry sponsorship of clinical research in breast cancer shows that treatment trials funded by the industry are more likely to show positive results than studies sponsored by other sources. There are also major differences in trial design when drug companies are the funders.

AIDS Drugs & the Pharmaceutical Industry: A Need For Reform

1991 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 363-410
Author(s):  
Mary T. Griffin
Keyword(s):  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
Drug Approval ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
Price Regulation ◽  
Drug Industry ◽  
Drug Companies ◽  
Aids Drugs

AbstractThe pharmaceutical industry has long enjoyed substantial profits despite increased requirements for drug approval and various attempts to regulate the industry. Drug companies have avoided effective regulation by blaming high prices on the costs of research and development. The search for drugs effective in combatting HIV and AIDS related illnesses has provided a stark background on which to view the actions and justifications of drug companies. Despite increased cooperation between government and the drug industry and expedited approval of several useful drugs, these drugs are still prohibitively expensive. This Article explores the history and economics of the drug industry and proposes a system of national price regulation for all drugs.

Corporate Colonization of Health Activism? Irish Health Advocacy Organizations' Modes of Engagement with Pharmaceutical Corporations

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 711-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orla O'Donovan
Keyword(s):  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Advocacy Organizations ◽  
Health Advocacy ◽  
Health Activism ◽  
Industry Sponsorship ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Modes Of Interaction ◽  
Modes Of Engagement ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Corporate Colonization

This article is based on a study that aimed to shed light on the “cultures of action” of Irish health advocacy organizations, and particularly their modes of engagement with pharmaceutical corporations. Debates about what some interpret as the “corporate colonization” of health activism provide the backdrop for the analysis. The empirical dimension of the study involved a survey of 112 organizations and in-depth study of a small number of organizations that manifest diverse modes of engagement with the pharmaceutical industry. The varying modes of interaction are plotted along a continuum and characterized as corporatist, cautious cooperation, and confrontational. Evidence is presented of a strong and growing cultural tendency in Irish health advocacy organizations to frame pharmaceutical corporations as allies in their quests for better health. The analysis of four constitutive dimensions of organizations' cultures of action can reveal the legitimating logics underlying their diverging positions around pharmaceutical industry sponsorship. While the research shows that pharmaceutical corporations have largely succeeded in defining themselves as a philanthropic force and rightful players in Irish health activism, it cautions against a simplistic conclusion that this is evidence of corporate colonization.

Pharmaceutical Promotion in the Third World

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Lexchin
Keyword(s):  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Third World ◽  
Marketing Practice ◽  
Professional Groups ◽  
The Third ◽  
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers ◽  
Drug Companies ◽  
Pharmaceutical Promotion ◽  
The Third World

The pharmaceutical industry is motivated by profit and it is the quest for ever larger sales and profits that determines how the industry promotes its products. The author analyzes the methods that drug companies use in marketing their drugs to doctors and consumers, and the consequences in terms of costs and health. Some of the drugs advertised are valuable; others are irrational mixtures, useless or dangerous and should not be on the market. Even for products of proven worth, the companies have a double standard when it comes to promoting them in the Third World. The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations does have a Code of Marketing Practice, but major weaknesses in the code render it almost impotent in regulating promotion. When consumers and health care professionals question the tactics of the industry, the response is usually to attack the credibility of the critics rather than to deal with the issues that they raise. Physicians and consumers are strongly influenced by pharmaceutical promotion, with all too predictable results: Doctors prescribe irrationally and consumers develop grossly distorted ideas about the value of modern medications. Reforms to promotional practices are possible, but may be beyond the resources of Third World countries. Achieving these reforms will require the efforts of Third World countries, progressive elements in the pharmaceutical industry, consumer and professional groups and some form of organized international support.

scholarly journals Comparison of Estrogen and Progesterone Receptor Antibody Reagents Using Proficiency Testing Data

2017 ◽  
Vol 141 (10) ◽  
pp. 1402-1412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan L. Troxell ◽  
Thomas Long ◽  
Jason L. Hornick ◽  
Abiy B. Ambaye ◽  
Kristin C. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Progesterone Receptor ◽  
Proficiency Testing ◽  
Immunohistochemical Analysis ◽  
Predictive Testing ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Tissue Microarrays ◽  
Current Standard ◽  
Testing Data ◽  
Positive Results

Context.— Immunohistochemical analysis of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) expression in breast cancer is the current standard of care and directly determines therapy. In 2010 the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the College of American Pathologists (ASCO/CAP) published guidelines for ER and PgR predictive testing, encompassing preanalytic, analytic, postanalytic factors; antibody validation; and proficiency testing. Objective.— To compare the performance of different antibody reagents for ER and PgR immunohistochemical analysis by using CAP proficiency testing data. Design.— The CAP PM2 survey uses tissue microarrays of ten 2-mm cores per slide. We analyzed survey data from 80 ER and 80 PgR cores by antibody clone from more than 1200 laboratories. Results.— Laboratories used the ER antibodies SP1 (72%), 6F11 (17%), 1D5 (3%), and the PgR antibodies 1E2 (61%), 16 (12%), PgR-636 (13%), PgR-1294 (8%) in 2015. While 63 of 80 ER cores (79%) were scored similarly using each of the 3 antibodies, there were significant differences for others, with SP1 yielding more positive interpretations. Four cores were scored as ER negative by more than half of the laboratories using 1D5 or 6F11, while SP1 produced positive results in more than 70% of laboratories using that antibody. Despite the greater variety of PgR antibody reagents and greater PgR tumor heterogeneity, 61 of 80 cores (76%) were scored similarly across the 4 PgR antibodies. Conclusions.— Accurate ER and PgR testing in breast cancer is crucial for appropriate treatment. The CAP proficiency testing data demonstrate differences in staining results by ER clone, with SP1 yielding more positive results.

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