Big Pharma Is Pushing Prescription Drug Prices Up, Up, Up

Staff / Truthdig May 25, 2016 Wall Street’s drive for profits is diminishing the benefits to society of new life-enhancing medications for which companies can charge patients hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Martin Shkreli Abandons Promise to Lower HIV Drug Price He Gouged

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Nov 26, 2015 The disreputable pharmaceutical boss has reneged on an agreement to lower the price of a medication he raised from $13.50 to $750 per pill. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Rep. Jason Chaffetz Uses House Leadership Power to Protect His Drug Company Backers

Staff / Truthdig Nov 5, 2015 Republican Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Governmental Reform, has been accused of protecting drug companies Valeant and Turing Pharmaceuticals from a congressional investigation into alleged price gouging. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Would Washington’s FDA Fix Cure the Patients or the Drug Industry?

Staff / Truthdig Oct 21, 2015 A bill that would speed up approval for medications and medical devices shows how a major initiative can get traction even in the midst of Washington gridlock — but critics say all the lobbying is drowning out some warnings about patient safety. Dig deeper ( 10 Min. Read )

Truthdiggers of the Week: All Those Who Piled on Martin Shkreli

BLANK Sep 27, 2015 The drug company CEO who announced a 5,000 percent increase in the price of a lifesaving drug was forced to back down after Twitter users, the industry and others exploded in outrage. We have three words for these sometimes rude commenters: Good for you. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

A Solution We Didn’t Know We Needed: Now You Can Bequeath Your Tattoos

Staff / Truthdig Sep 24, 2015 If you have a tattoo, you no longer have to worry about it dying out with your body, thanks to a new service; a piece explains why we're unable to keep pharmaceutical companies from charging absurd amounts for drugs; meanwhile, a year after the Ayotzinapa disappearances in Mexico, relatives of the missing students are still seeking justice. These discoveries and more after the jump. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Doctors Are Prescribing Powerful Antipsychotics to Many People With No Mental Illness

Staff / Truthdig Sep 4, 2015 Large numbers of people with learning disabilities and no record of severe mental illness are being prescribed strong psychotropic drugs, possibly as a means of subduing and controlling uncooperative patients, research shows. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Late Chemo: Expensive and Unnecessarily Painful

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Mar 7, 2014 Chemotherapy administered in the last months of life -- which offers a boon to profit-seeking drug companies (one month's supply can cost $10,000 or more) -- significantly increased the odds that a cancer patient would require intensive treatment in the last week of life, late referral to hospice care, and death away from their preferred place, an investigation has shown. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

FDA Opens Review of Rules for Over-the-Counter Drugs, Including Acetaminophen

Staff / Truthdig Mar 1, 2014 Federal regulators’ announcement that they will examine the regulation of non-prescription drugs such as acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, follows a ProPublica investigation. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

The U.S. Has the Best Health Care System in the World—for Drug Companies

BLANK Oct 14, 2013 Two new articles dive into the ways in which the pharmaceutical industry has gamed the market forces behind U.S. drug prices, and how sweetheart deals between doctors and financing firms are gouging the economically vulnerable. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Suit Alleges Drug Company Paid Doctors to Shill

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig May 1, 2013 Swiss pharmaceutical manufacturer Novartis paid doctors to push three of its products by holding "educational events" on fishing trips and at Hooters restaurants that amounted to little more than parties, according to the federal government. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

WHO Accused of Overstating Swine Flu Threat

Staff / Truthdig Jun 4, 2010 Two reports released Friday are critical of the World Health Organization's handling of the H1N1 flu pandemic -- which was dubbed "exaggeration on stilts" -- as well as the fact that some WHO scientists had previously been on the payroll of big drug companies. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )