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PharmedOut

@pharmed-out.bsky.social
43 followers 7 following 139 posts

PharmedOut is a project at Georgetown that advances evidence-based prescribing and provides education about pharmaceutical and medical device marketing practices.

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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
1/2: On Sept 29th at 12PM ET, join us for Dr. Carl Elliott's talk, "Cops and the K-Hole: The Hennepin Healthcare Forced Ketamine Studies." Dr. Elliott will talk about the ethical issues around the ketamine clinical trials that occurred in Minnesota and... link: georgetown.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
georgetown.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: HAPI Hour Seminar with Carl Elliott MD, PhD. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
Join us for the inaugural HAPI Hour Seminar with Carl Elliott MD, PhD. In his talk titled "Cops and the K-Hole: The Hennepin Healthcare Forced Ketamine Studies," Dr. Elliott will present his researc...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Novo's Doustdar discusses expanding “consumer Rx” beyond weight loss drugs ; notes that 90% of sales of Wegovy have been through a cash channel. from @statnews.com link: www.statnews.com/2026/09/21/n...
statnews.com
With new strategy, Novo outlines plans for obesity, direct-to-consumer work
Under investor pressure, Novo presented its strategy to both grow its obesity franchise and diversify its pipeline.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
apnews.com/article/tele...
apnews.com
Telehealth companies keep exposing their customers' medical data. What should they do?
It's not hard to explain why business is booming for telehealth companies. The apps and websites offer quick, convenient access to prescriptions for sensitive medical conditions, including weight loss...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
kffhealthnews.org/health-indus...
kffhealthnews.org
The Drugs and Devices Have Been on the Market for Years. But FDA-Ordered Studies Still Aren’t Done. - KFF Health News
To get drugs and devices out faster, the FDA lets companies conduct studies of safety or efficacy after the products are approved. In many cases, such “postmarket” studies are behind schedule or overd...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
“There’s a lot of naivete not just in the US but everywhere about drug companies educating anyone about drugs... [education] should be done by people who don’t have a financial interest," Fugh-Berman told Moneywise. moneywise.com/news/top-sto...
moneywise.com
GLP-1 drugmakers have paid more than 270,000 US doctors to promote weight-loss drugs — one family physician has received $1 million
It’s legal to pay practising physicians to promote specific drugs — and thousands are doing so.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
An article by @apnews.com outlines why regular people should not be taking the Alzheimer's blood tests that are now on the market: "Want to lower your risk of dementia? It doesn’t involve a blood test" apnews.com/article/alzh...
apnews.com
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The gifts from pharma companies that keep on giving: A study found that "despite sometimes rancorous debate over the use of freebies to influence physician prescribing, the practice remains woven into the fabric of the medical community" via @statnews.com www.statnews.com/pharmalot/20...
statnews.com
The gifts from pharma companies that keep on giving
There has been rancorous debate over doctors accepting free gifts and speaking fees from pharma companies. That doesn't mean doctors have reconsidered.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Fugh-Berman in the @washingtonpost.com : Industry has "controlled the discourse on weight and health so that people equate thinness with health and that is just wrong. You can be fat and healthy. You can be thin and unhealthy.” Read the GLP-1 story here: www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
A new analysis in @plosone.org found that between 2016 and 2024 "FDA approvals were supported by fewer studies and by a greater proportion of industry-sponsored studies." In 2024 alone, "69.4% of products were approved on the basis of a single trial." journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
journals.plos.org
Changes in evidence used for FDA Novel Drug Approvals: 2016-2024
Background The 21st Century Cures Act (2017) was enacted during a period of evolving FDA flexibility in evidentiary standards for drug approval. To examine trends before and after implementation, we i...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Fugh Berman quoted in The 19th: “Low-T is invented by pharmaceutical companies," and "[testosterone] has harms and unclear benefits... it’s very unclear whether it actually helps sexual function." 19thnews.org/2026/09/whit...
19thnews.org
It’s a transformative moment for hormones. And kind of a weird one.
Want to halt aging, stop divorce and increase national security? The Trump administration seems to believe hormones can do all of that.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
"A State Gave Sheriffs 20% of Its Opioid Settlement Cash. We Followed the Money." via @kffhealthnews.org kffhealthnews.org/public-healt...
kffhealthnews.org
A State Gave Sheriffs 20% of Its Opioid Settlement Cash. We Followed the Money. - KFF Health News
Opioid settlement cash was meant to abate the addiction crisis. But a new investigation reveals millions in Louisiana was spent on law enforcement gear and police technology instead of lifesaving trea...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
American Diabetes Association throws researchers under the bus for defending science: Police Remove Diabetes Experts From Conference for Distributing Critique of Trump Administration www.nytimes.com/2026/06/05/w...
nytimes.com
Police Remove Diabetes Experts From Conference for Distributing Critique of Trump Administration
Several of those escorted out were scheduled to present at the American Diabetes Association conference this weekend.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
📢New article on vaginal estrogen and the prevention of recurrent UTIs in postmenopausal women from PharmedOut's Patricia Bencivenga, Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman, and Dr. Tony Scialli. Read it here: www.fertstertreviews.org/article/S266...
fertstertreviews.org
Vaginal estrogen and the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infection in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Vaginal estrogen has been used for menopausal vaginal symptoms. Estrogen has been prescribed to prevent urinary tract infection, based in part on the belief that estrogen is effective and without adve...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Testosterone Levels and Sexual Function, by @drjengunter.bsky.social vajenda.substack.com/p/testostero...
vajenda.substack.com
Testosterone Levels and Sexual Function
Results of a new study
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Listen to Patricia Bencivenga and Adriane Fugh-Berman talk about the "rise of perimenopause misinformation" on STAT's First Opinion Podcast. "Are too many symptoms blamed on perimenopause? Two experts weigh in on the “First Opinion Podcast." Link: www.statnews.com/2026/05/20/i...
statnews.com
The rise of perimenopause misinformation
Are too many symptoms blamed on perimenopause? Two experts weigh in on the “First Opinion Podcast.”
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Antihypertensive treatment is associated with hospitalization or death due to falls- The Lancet Primary Care www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
thelancet.com
Association between antihypertensive treatment and hospitalisation or death due to falls according to sex, ethnicity, and social deprivation status: an observational cohort study in English primary ca...
All subgroups of patients with antihypertensive prescriptions had an increased risk of hospitalisation or death due to falls versus those who were unexposed. No significant difference in risk of falls...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Kenny Lin: New ACC/AHA statin guidelines failed to do systematic review, didn't include national internal medicine and family medicine organizations, and 12/33 on guideline panel had relevant conflicts of interest. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...
medscape.com
Grading the New Dyslipidemia Guidelines
Dr Kenny Lin reviews the updated ACC/AHA dyslipidemia guidelines and explains why primary care clinicians shouldn't blindly accept the new rules as gospel.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Recent turbulence at the @US_FDA shows why PharmedOut's aptly named report "What Needs to Change at the FDA?" is especially relevant today! Read the executive summary and the report here: sites.google.com/georgetown.e...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Jeanne Lenzer's great article on tests that make perfectly healthy people think they have Alzheimer’s. Fugh-Berman is quoted saying “These are bad tests designed to make people eligible for bad drugs.” www.levernews.com/the-campaign...
levernews.com
The Campaign To Turn Healthy People Into Alzheimer’s Patients
Drugmakers, influencers, and industry-funded advocacy groups are pushing Alzheimer’s screenings that could label millions of Americans as sick — despite shaky science and dangerous treatments.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
As the Sackler family worked through a plan to pay $6.5 billion to resolve their liability over Purdue Pharma’s production of addictive opioids, the epidemic hit even closer to home. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Sackler Family Member Admits Felony Tied to Her Opioid Addiction
As the Sackler family worked through a plan to pay $6.5 billion to resolve their liability over Purdue Pharma LP’s production of addictive opioids, the epidemic hit even closer to home.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
F.D.A. Blocked Publication of Research Finding Covid and Shingles Vaccines Were Safe www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/u... via @nytimes.com
nytimes.com
F.D.A. Blocked Publication of Research Finding Covid and Shingles Vaccines Were Safe
The agency’s scientists and data contractors reviewed millions of patient records for studies that were pulled back before release.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
GLP-1 Overdoses on the Rise: Cause for Concern? www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...
medscape.com
GLP-1 Overdoses on the Rise: Cause for Concern?
GLP-1 overdoses are on the rise, and some clinicians suggest informing patients of the risk in the initial consultation.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Top Psychiatrists Call for a Greater Focus on Ceasing Medication www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/s... via @nytimes.com
nytimes.com
Top Psychiatrists Call for a Greater Focus on Ceasing Medication
With Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. aiming to rein in the use of psychiatric drugs, psychiatrists are preemptively addressing how and when patients should quit taking them.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
"Opioid manufacturers unethically changed what prescribers thought they knew about opioids, and changed how chronic pain was treated." Read more here: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
"Redefining Pain and Addiction: How Opioid Manufacturers Changed Medical Language to Foster Opioid Use" reveals the origins and impact of terms such as opiophobia and pseudoaddiction. Pharma influence on knowledge about drugs is a serious concern. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Redefining Pain and Addiction: How Opioid Manufacturers Changed Medical Language to Foster Opioid Use | Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics | Cambridge Core
Redefining Pain and Addiction: How Opioid Manufacturers Changed Medical Language to Foster Opioid Use
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
PharmedOut's Caroline Renko and Adriane Fugh-Berman with collaborator Liza Vertinsky expose industry-funded #CME as unregulated promotion in latest paper, "Medicalizing Aging for Profit through Medical Education." Read more here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Medicalizing Aging for Profit through Medical "Education"
Aging is associated with varying symptoms that pharmaceutical companies have been quick to medicalize, defining natural processes in disease terms to prepare th
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Good news on long term opioid prescribing jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
US Trends in Long-Term Opioid Therapy
This study assesses national trends in the prevalence of long-term opioid therapy and the characteristics of patients using data from a longitudinal prescription database containing prescriptions from...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Nothing for something: Marketing cancer drugs to physicians increases prescribing without improving mortality www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Patricia Bencivenga and A Fugh-Berman counter the narrative that women are ruled by their hormones: "Perimenopausal women are not ill," and should "fight the disempowering concept that women and their hormones must be medically controlled." www.statnews.com/2026/03/26/p...
statnews.com
The perimenopause movement sells women the lie that they are ruled by their hormones
The recent explosion of perimenopause attention tells women that they are controlled by their hormones.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
GAO Report just released: FDA Advisory Committees: More Transparency Needed on Policies for Making Conflict of Interest Determinations www.gao.gov/products/gao...
gao.gov
U.S. GAO - FDA Advisory Committees: More Transparency Needed on Policies for Making Conflict of Interest Determinations
The Food and Drug Administration relies on advisory committees for independent advice on developing and evaluating drugs and other products. If...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
"Social media influencer promotion of prescription drugs was consistently associated with misinformation, weak and outdated regulatory oversight, and audience difficulty in recognizing promotional intent when marketing was embedded in personal narratives". jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
Prescription Drug Promotion by Social Media Influencers
This systematic scoping review examines the existing research on social media influencer promotion of prescription drugs and identifies recurring themes, gaps in regulatory oversight, and opportunitie...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Great article by Steve Weintraub MD in JGIM on how Wyeth's ghostwritten articles helped make lorazepam the most highly prescribed drug for alcohol addiction despite its inferiority to diazepam and chlordiazepoxide link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Client Challenge
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
She Died After Her Pacemaker Battery Failed. Its Maker Knew of Problems for Years. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/b... via @nytimes.com
nytimes.com
She Died After Her Pacemaker Battery Failed. Its Maker Knew of Problems for Years.
Boston Scientific announced multiple recalls but has said its battery issues were limited. One internal test in 2025 found batteries with an “extremely high failure rate.”
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Nursing homes falsely label patients schizophrenic to sedate them, OIG says www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
washingtonpost.com
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
PharmedOut's Caroline Renko testifies at MD hearing: “Industry-funded disease awareness campaigns are vital for marketing expensive drugs... " "Marketing drugs prior to FDA approval is illegal. However, marketing diseases is not.” www.fiercepharma.com/marketing/pr...
fiercepharma.com
Maryland bill calls for more transparency in pharma's disease awareness campaigns
A new bill introduced in the Maryland House of Delegates requests that pharmas be more specific about the brands related to their otherwise unbranded disease awareness initiatives. | A new bill introd...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
PharmedOut testified at a Maryland House Health Committee advocating for transparency around pharmaceutical marketing disguised as public health education. Read the STAT News coverage here: www.statnews.com/pharmalot/20...
statnews.com
A Maryland legislator wants pharma and patient groups to disclose ties to disease awareness campaigns
A bill introduced in the Maryland legislature would require drugmakers to disclose ties to disease awareness campaigns.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Great article by L. Cosgrove et al on the hasty approval of zuranolone for postpartum depression. Notes the U.S. is "the only country that has approved zuranolone and is also the only one of 41 OECD nations that does not mandate any paid family leave" pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41640203/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Zuranolone: A case study in (regulatory) rush to judgement? - PubMed
Sage, in collaboration with Biogen, submitted a new drug approval for zuranolone for postpartum depression (PPD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) in December 2022. In August 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration granted approval for PPD but denied approval for MDD. The approval process took o …
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Dr. Adewole Adamson on Grail’s Cancer Detection Test inability to affect advanced cancer diagnoses: The study failed, he said. “End of story.” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/20/h... via @nytimes.com
nytimes.com
Grail’s Cancer Detection Test Fails in Major Study
A closely watched clinical trial in Britain that screened blood for early detection of cancer did not show a reduction in diagnoses at later stages of the disease.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The FDA is making a mistake in removing black box warnings from menopausal hormone therapy products. "Removing a boxed warning doesn’t make a drug safer — it just makes the risks easier to overlook." Read our full statement: sites.google.com/georgetown.e...
sites.google.com
Aging and Hormones
On this page you'll find information on:
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Dental surgeons are prescribing fewer opioids: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Multi-Institutional Retrospective Study on Opioid Prescribing Patterns of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
The opioid epidemic is a serious crisis in the United States. It has been proposed that opioid prescriptions following dental procedures are a major contributor to opioid use and abuse. The American D...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
PharmedOut's Bencivenga and Fugh-Berman describe the cyclical - and dangerous- overpromotion of menopausal hormone therapy www.statnews.com/2026/01/08/h... via @statnews.com
statnews.com
The 30-year itch: Hormone promotion is back with a vengeance
Uninformed influencers and physicians peddling menopausal hormones are in desperate need of a history lesson.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Carl Elliott | How can a professor keep a straight face while instructing a student not to cheat when both of them know that university administrators protect plagiarists and frauds? www.startribune.com/umn-professo...
startribune.com
Opinion | Reflecting on yet another year of scientific fraud at the University of Minnesota
Allegations a scientist doctored images in a paper on Alzheimer’s. Rachel Hardeman's resignation. An investigation into a pediatrician's reports of child abuse. The U saw a number of scientific scanda...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Makary, RFK Jr. Exaggerate Chronic Disease Benefits of Menopausal Hormone Therapy - www.factcheck.org/2025/12/maka...
factcheck.org
Makary, RFK Jr. Exaggerate Chronic Disease Benefits of Menopausal Hormone Therapy - FactCheck.org
Many doctors agree with the Food and Drug Administration’s recent decision to remove the black box warnings on at least some forms of hormone therapy used to treat the symptoms of menopause. But in ma...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
The FDA's plan to remove warnings from labels of menopausal hormone therapy "may be the most damaging decision that this administration has made against public health", say Butler and Fugh-Berman in Kansas City Star op-ed: www.kansascity.com/opinion/read...
kansascity.com
FDA deleting menopause hormone drug warning risks all women’s health | Opinion
No new data supports these label changes, which fly in the face of known science. More than 100,000 women in Kansas City and 670,000 in Kansas are affected. | Opinion
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Fugh-Berman quoted in BMJ article: Menopausal hormone therapy "should not be used for disease prevention, and it should not be used to treat symptoms that are not associated with menopause. " Jennifer Block exposes Let’s Talk Menopause... www.bmj.com/content/391/...
bmj.com
How a menopause campaign with industry ties became official US policy
The removal of a warning label on menopausal hormone therapies has been hailed as a win for a US advocacy campaign. But the origins of that campaign suggest industry is laying the groundwork for a wid...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
New publication shines a light on who testifies at #FDA Advisory Committee meetings. "The FDA should consider strategies to solicit input from a broader array of stakeholders and mitigate COI among public participants." jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
Characteristics of Speakers at US FDA Advisory Committee Meetings on Drug Approval
This cross-sectional study assesses whether the characteristics of people who spoke at US Food and Drug Administration Human Drug Advisory Committee meetings on new drug approvals were associated with...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
"Drug samples aren’t charity...they are intended to influence prescribing. The best way to curb pharmaceutical marketing and support evidence-based, cost-effective treatments is to ban drug samples." Butler et. al in www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...
healthaffairs.org
Free Samples: Pharma’s Best Marketing Strategy | Health Affairs Forefront
The majority of promotional expenditures are invested in drug samples, one of the industry’s most important marketing tactics.
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
“The direction of travel is clear: Pharma is moving closer to the patient.” Will Pharma’s Direct-to-Patient Push Disintermediate Wholesalers? | PharmExec www.pharmexec.com/view/pharma-...
pharmexec.com
Will Pharma’s Direct-to-Patient Push Disintermediate Wholesalers? | PharmExec
As leading drugmakers launch direct-to-patient platforms with steep discounts and digital care bundles, a new channel dynamic is emerging that gives manufacturers greater control of patient engagement...
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Millions of Kids Are on ADHD Pills. For Many, It’s the Start of a Drug Cascade. - WSJ www.wsj.com/health/welln...
wsj.com
Millions of Kids Are on ADHD Pills. For Many, It’s the Start of a Drug Cascade.
Powerful psychotropic drugs are often the next step, even though their combined effects in young children haven’t been studied closely. ‘I was living in a body hijacked by the medication.’
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PharmedOut @pharmed-out.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Big Pharma’s Dark Money Scores $8 Billion Bonanza www.levernews.com/big-pharmas-...
levernews.com
Big Pharma’s Dark Money Scores $8 Billion Bonanza
The country’s top pharmaceutical lobbying group secretly gave millions to a Republican-aligned dark money group, then won billions in drug-pricing exemptions.
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