Sunday, February 20, 2011

Survey shows most doctors don't trust drug.... and that I am so naive sometimes...

Not too long ago, the FDA rescinded the breast cancer indication for the drug Avastin, which is approved to treat bowel, lung, brain and kidney cancers. Now Pharmot is reporting (here) that a new survey has found 58 percent of doctors surveyed support the FDA restriction. In response, Roche CEO Severin Schwan complained that “People talk as if Avastin is a problem, but it is a product with over six billion Swiss francs (in sales) and it still has growth potential." Does anything strike you as odd in this response? I don't know, I guess I would have liked to have heard the complaint be something along the lines of "this drug has proven effective in treating cancer" or "it helps patients" or something along those lines. Instead, the complaint is that that pesky FDA is cutting in on profits. The drug makes billions! How can someone not think it is a good product!? I guess, that tells you something about the comapany's priorities. I am so naive sometimes....

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