SUMMARY: Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca publicly committed to not profiting off their products during the pandemic; Pfizer and Moderna made no such pledge and are already planning ways to make more money from their Covid vaccines.
Category Archive: Bad Pharma
SUMMARY: Pharma companies, like J&J, have received criticism for engaging in illegal activities, such as providing kickbacks and bribes, knowingly shipping adulterated or contaminated drugs to pharmacies, and marketing drugs for unapproved uses. Johnson & Johnson has paid $2.7 billion in penalties. Can a COVID-19 vaccine approval suddenly erase that?
SUMMARY: One of the biggest complaints people have about their health is the lack of sleep caused by many factors, from diet and weight to chronic stress. DTC for a product that can keep people awake for nine hours is a message for potential abuse. Did I mention that they are using a flying pig in their DTC?
THOUGHT: The reports of “pharma goodwill” were premature. At least three major pharmaceutical companies are ringing in the new year by raising drug prices on a range of products, according to Reuters, in the midst of a pandemic that has taken a serious toll on healthcare systems and limited regular interactions with patients. Business as usual.
As development towards a COVID-19 vaccine continue so do the number of people who have said they won’t get vaccinated. The only way to get people on board with a vaccination is complete transparency about the product yet both J&J and Pfizer remain silent.
WHAT NOW: The idea that most pharma companies are here to serve patients is a canard. Pharma CEO’s serve themselves with big salaries tied to drug prices and keeping drugs from coming off patent.
THE BASICS: A “critical part” of pharmaceutical company AbbVie‘s success is “face-to-face” interaction, CEO Richard Gonzalez explained in an Aug. 27 email outlining its process for bringing thousands of U.S.-based employees back to work. This is beyond irresponsible.
QUICK READ: A reporter for a leading business magazine recently reached out to me and asked “what are Pharma product websites so bad?”. OK, maybe not all of them are that bad but I would bet that 80% are really poor. There is a lot of blame to go around but these facts are still relevant today.