“Whitewashing a Black Box Warning: The Chantix Story That Didn’t get Told”
"The decision to remove the Chantix black box warning had its roots in a study known as the EAGLES trial, which was mandated by...
Industry Funded Trials Favor Drugs Over Psychotherapy
The researchers conclude that industry funding appears to bias studies towards pharmacotherapy over psychotherapy for the treatment of depression.
“21st Century Cures Bill Would Weaken Requirements for Disclosing Industry Ties”
Ed Silverman reports for STAT that a provision tucked into the 21st Century Cares legislation exempts companies from reporting payments made to doctors, journals,...
“For One Condition, the Drugs Came Before the Disorder”
An investigative report in the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel explores the pharmaceutical industries involvement in the creation of the ‘mental illness’ known as Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder...
How ‘Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder’ was Created by Pharma
For MinnPost, Susan Perry discusses that the pharmaceutical industry played in the creation of the ‘mental disorder’ known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder or PMDD....
Review Questions Long Term Use of Antipsychotics
Patients who recover from a single episode of psychosis are often prescribed antipsychotics long-term, despite a lack of evidence for this practice
Experts Raise Alarm on Influence of Medical Device Salespeople
From Medscape: “Despite their role, device reps have received little scrutiny, in sharp contrast to drug salespeople, whose role has been the subject of...
“A Frenzy Of Lobbying On 21st Century Cures”
Kaiser Health News and NPR report on the immense lobbying effort aimed at passing the "21st Century Cures" Act which would fast-track FDA approval...
Safety Analysis Weighs Harms and Benefits of Antipsychotic Drugs
The researchers find that the drug effects for reducing psychosis are small and that treatment failure and severe side effects are common.
“Feds Charge Former Valeant and Philidor Execs with Fraud”
“The executive who once ran the specialty pharmacy at the heart of the Valeant Pharmaceutical accounting scandal was arrested Thursday morning, along with a...
Study Finds No Benefit for Testosterone Treatments
Researchers find no benefits for testosterone as a treatment for improving mood, psychological well-being, and cognitive function.
Pharma Data Sharing Efforts Off to a Slow Start
Researchers discuss the preliminary results of clinical trial data sharing efforts by pharmaceutical companies and other groups.
Bipolar Diagnosis Linked to Childhood Adversity
With the ties between traumatic childhood experiences and mental health issues, should we continue to focus on biological approaches?
What Animal Research Says About Sexual Side-effects of SSRIs
A group of researchers in Denmark examines what existing animal studies can tell us about the sexual side-effects of SSRI antidepressants.
Systematic Review Finds Antidepressants Double the Risk for Agitation and Violence in Healthy Volunteers
The Nordic Cochrane Center conducted a systematic review of existing research trials on antidepressants and found that the drugs doubled the risk of feelings...
“Ghostwriting: The Importance of Definition and its Place in Contemporary Drug Marketing”
Former ghostwriter, Alastair Matheson, talks to BMJ about how the pharmaceutical industry found a loophole to continue composing articles in medical journals without admitting...
“80% of Data in Chinese Clinical Trials have been Fabricated”
An investigation by the Chinese government found that more than eighty percent of all of the data on new pharmaceuticals had been “fabricated.” “The...
New Study Casts Doubt on Efficacy of Ketamine for Depression
A new study, published this month in the Journal of Affective Disorders, investigated the effectiveness of weekly intravenous ketamine injections as a treatment for...
“How the FDA Manipulates the Media”
The Scientific American reports that the FDA offered scoops to major media organizations but, in exchange, the news agencies had to agree only to...
How Do Antidepressants Really ‘Work’?
A recent review, published in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, challenges the dominant assumptions about the neurochemical and therapeutic effects of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors...
German Psychologists Declare “the Drugs Don’t Work”
Jürgen Margraf and Silvia Schneider, both well-known psychologists at the University of Bochum in Germany, claim that psychotropic drugs are no solution to mental...
Ghostwriting has a New Name but Same Problems
A new paper, published in the British Medical Journal, explains how the pharmaceutical industry has publicly denounced ghostwriting while still finding ways to engage...
Psychiatric Drug Ads Lead to More Prescriptions and Worse Treatment
A new analysis published in the The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry investigates the public health effects of direct-to-consumer advertisements for psychiatric drugs. The researchers...
“FDA Panel Votes to Remove Serious Warning from Pfizer’s Smoking Cessation Pill”
This week an FDA advisory panel decided to remove warnings of serious psychiatric side effects from the Chantix product label. “In making its recommendation,...
“FDA questions Pfizer Study of Chantix Psychiatric Effects”
Pfizer is petitioning the FDA to remove the black box warning for Chantix which focuses on neuropsychiatric side-effects like suicidality and depression. The regulators...
