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February 28, 2007
A Ticking Time Bomb
by Michael Martell
EVERY 6TH PERSON IS AFFECTED BY NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS WORLDWIDE
A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that neurological disorders, ranging from epilepsy to Alzheimer disease, from stroke to headache, af-fect up to one billion people worldwide. Neurological disorders also include brain injuries, neuroinfections, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson disease.
The Report, Neurological Disorders: Public health challenges, reveals that of the one billion people affected worldwide, 50 million suffer from epilepsy and 24 million from Alzheimer and other dementias. Neurological disorders affect people in all countries, irrespective of age, sex, education or income.
An estimated 6.8 million people die every year as a result of neurological disorders. In Europe, the economic cost of neurological diseases was estimated at about 139 billion euros in 2004.
Access to appropriate care is difficult for many people with neurological disorders, their families and caregivers. WHO advocates for the integration of neurological care into primary health care. For many people, primary health care is the only access to medical care they have. In these settings, doctors can use low-technology interven-tions. Community-based rehabilitation is also an option.
"Despite the fact that highly effective, low-cost treatments are available, as many as nine out of 10 people suffering from epilepsy in Africa go untreated. Health systems need to be strengthened to deliver better care for people with neurological disor-ders," said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General.
Due to the fact that many countries already today can not cope with the health care of their people, it is only fair to say that the increasing number of neurological disor-ders around the world is indeed a ticking time bomb.
The full report can be found at: http://www.who.int/mental_health/en/
Posted by michael_martell at 09:36 AM
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Japan's Cancer Refugees
by Peter Pitts
At first glance, Japan's health-care system seems superior to America's. Its infant mortality rate is among the world's lowest. Japan's life expectancy is the world's highest for women (85.6 years) and the fourth-highest for men (80.4 years).
All this has been achieved at a fraction of what the United States spends. Only 9 percent of Japan's gross domestic product is spent on health care, while America spends almost twice that. It seems like the perfect system. For many, perhaps it is -- unless you actually need to use it ... and particularly if you have cancer.
Have a look at this new op-ed that appears in the Commentary section of The Washington Times:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20070222-084946-2121r.htm
A health-care system's success shouldn't simply be based on life expectancy and fiscal policy but rather on individual outcomes.
Candidates in the 2008 presidential race have already begun vying for Americans' votes. Improving the nation's health-care system has already surfaced as a major issue for all those seeking the job. But it's hardly an improvement on our health-care system if politicians seek to turn our life-and-death health-care decisions over to bureaucrats and budget-crunchers.
Japan's cancer refugees have just issued a wake-up call to their own government. It would be a shame if we didn't heed their warning and ended up with cancer refugees of our own.
Posted by Peter Pitts at 06:09 AM
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February 27, 2007
Even Safety Needs Limits
by Peter Pitts
Here's a new article (by me) from Barron's. The title says it all, "Even Safety Needs Limits."
To read the article, click on the link below:
To entice you on, here's the closing paragraph:
"FDA decisions can be made more transparent to all interested parties. The agency can improve cooperation with the industry, patient groups, physicians, hospitals, academia, and other government agencies. The goal should not be conducting more time-consuming discussion, but finding more effective ways to bring medical advances to patients as quickly as possible."
Posted by Peter Pitts at 07:09 AM
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February 26, 2007
First, do no paperwork
by Peter Pitts
Greek physicians of the Hippocratic period would not treat patients they didn’t think they could “cure.” They felt that it was bad for the patient (“First, do no harm”) and bad for their reputation. This latter point may seem shocking today, but it was not exceptional in ancient medicine – in fact, it was an integral part of the prognosis.
When such a situation arose, the ancient Greek physician resigned himself to what was called “noble flight.” (Also, it should be noted, an early example of health care “spin.”)
But such a thing could never happen today, right?
Well, hopefully – but the current debate over pay-for-performance is opening up the debate among many physicians about the wisdom of accepting difficult to treat patients. What’s old is new again. Consider M&M conferences? While never pleasant, they do serve an important purpose. Imagine if physicians avoided cases they couldn’t “cure.” In such a circumstance, we’d be right back to the time of the ancient Greeks.
After all, is the fear or damage to one’s reputation really any different than fear of reduced payment?
Posted by Peter Pitts at 09:27 AM
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February 22, 2007
Expand Media Efforts to Include Social Media
by MaryEllen O'Donohue
With the Internet continuing to be a powerful information resource, it remains the first point of contact for media and the public for breaking news. And, due to recent layoffs and cutbacks at newspapers and magazines, more print and broadcast outlets are expanding their offerings to entice new and existing audiences with social media elements including Web sites with blogs, message boards and podcasts, just to name a few, as ways to enhance dialog and information retrieval.
The trend in social media will continue to impact PR in 2007 as these online tools and platforms are fast becoming the way media and consumers gather information while sharing their insights, opinions and experiences. It’s the creative open forum for conversation and participation that social media provides that we must encourage our clients to embrace to enter the next phase of PR, being in tune with these emerging technology trends and shaping communication with media in the future.
We should continue our traditional approaches to media outreach, but need to learn how to do it differently. Becoming more aware of journalists’ needs and wants for online coverage is a step in the right direction. Offering photos, MP3 files, podcast links, graphics, video and multimedia, and building them in to press releases, along with other media offerings, will help to entice media interest in our clients and their brands while staying on top of this growing industry trend.
Posted by maryellen_o'donohue at 11:02 AM
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February 15, 2007
It must be true, I read it in the newspaper
by Peter Pitts
Two stories that are frightening both because of their content and, even more so, because of their easy acceptance as “main stream.”
The first is about an attempt in the Michigan legislature to allow residents of the Wolverine State to sue pharmaceutical companies if they suffer from an adverse event that is on the label of a prescription medicine. After all, patients shouldn’t be responsible for reading the PI and doctors shouldn’t be responsible for informing their patients about potential risks. The only responsibility, it seems, is to permit more and ever more law-suits.
Here’s the link:
http://www.dfw.com/mid/dfw/business/16697132.htm
The second news item comes from our friend, Congressman Henry Waxman, the U.S. House of Representatives new over-sighter-in-chief. It appears that Mr. Waxman doesn’t think Novartis should challenge an Indian law that trashes their IP protection.
But things, aren’t always as they appear, are they?
Here’s the full story:
And remember the old saw -- everything you read in the newspaper is true, except for those things you know about personally.
Posted by Peter Pitts at 11:17 AM
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February 14, 2007
Pharma moves for open access to genetic research
by Kelly McKenna
In a move illustrating increased collaboration, or more likely a realization of the time involved in translating the Human Genome into medicines, several drug companies are providing free access to their genetic research. Theoretically, more researchers analyzing the data translates into more targeted therapeutics reaching the market and patients quicker.
Open access takes the ownership of genes away from medical companies, raising questions for researchers and smaller biotech companies needing to secure private funding and make a profit. In the patent debate, both sides argue the stifling of innovation – granting patents on genes creates a monopoly and halts the development of medicines, yet privatization enables biotech companies to survive and thus, research and develop new therapies. Regardless, the number of gene patents is decreasing, and just last week, the Genomic Research and Accessibility Act was sponsored, which would ban "the practice of patenting genes found in nature".
Open access to genetic information will definitely spur innovation and discovery, and ideally, increase industry collaboration. In the end, the benefit to big pharma is the creation of a better, quicker drug pipeline. If it’s not their own, they can just buy it!
Read more about Novartis' move to provide free access to the company’s diabetes genetic research: http://www.forbes.com/home/2007/02/12/novartis-genes-diabetes-research-biz-cz_mh_0212novartis.html
Posted by kelly_mckenna at 12:56 PM
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February 05, 2007
WHO to Coup: Don't Do!
by Peter Pitts
The World Health Organization has cautioned Thailand over its move to adopt compulsory licensing for producing generic versions of heart disease and anti-Aids drugs.
''I'd like to underline that we have to find a right balance for compulsory licensing. We can't be naive about this. There is no perfect solution for accessing drugs in both quality and quantity,'' said WHO director-general Margaret Chan.
Brava!
Speaking during a visit to the National Health Security Office, Dr Chan said she truly felt that the pharmaceutical industry was part of the solution to better drug access and that the government should open negotiations with drug firms over the issue.
She encouraged the Public Health Ministry to improve the public-private partnership in order to give the public better access to drugs. Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla declined to comment on the issue.
Posted by Peter Pitts at 04:21 PM
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