(tap tap tap) Is this thing on?

June 6, 2008 – 12:44 pm

I am assured that after noon today, the readers of the e-newsletter PharmaBlogs: Week in Review will know that this blog exists. Let me know what you think. A caveat: I’m doing the formatting, visual selection and fitting, etc. all by myself on a basic template, so if anything looks truly whacktastic, be patient and hopefully I’ll get better at this as I go along.

So let’s get to some of the blogs today, shall we?

Blowing smoke at Chantix “roundtable”

The ever-irrepressible John Mack at the Pharma Marketing Blog has some words to say about the Chantix roundtable Pfizer had in New York City on Thursday. He had gotten an invitation to go, but couldn’t make it. Mr. Mack, I wasn’t there either. And from what Ed Silverman at Pharmalot says, I am glad I wasn’t. It seems the gathering was light on discussion and heavy on the talking at the press. As Mr. Mack says, “It appears that Pfizer knows how to take reservations for a roundtable, but does not know how to deliver a roundtable. And the delivery of the roundtable is really the most important part of calling for a ’roundtable discussion.’ If I wanted to sit in an audience in front of a dais of experts and not at a roundtable AMONG them, I could have attended what was once called simply a ‘press conference!’ Not that there’s anything wrong about being invited to attend a press conference. But if I had traveled for 2 hours each way from from my home office to and from this event in NYC only to be part of a press conference rather than a roundtable discussion, I would have been mightily pissed off!”

Mr. Mack has a number of questions for Pfizer. Maybe someone from there will be kind enough to answer him?

Rich Meyer at World of DTC Marketing, who seemed to be picking up his summary from the Wall Street Journal Health Blog, describes the event as a roundtable with square ideas. “There is nothing like a pharma company trying to both cover its ass and protect sales,” he says.

Mr. Silverman described the meeting as “largely uneventful, in so far as three Pfizer execs sat at a table in front of approximately 30 journalists and analysts, and reviewed details about the drug, the supporting clinical trials, interactions with the FDA, plans to further examine the risks and an upcoming ad campaign (TV ads that discuss the virtues of quitting smoking are already airing).” There’s a lively discussion in the comments to that post now between readers and Mr. Silverman, some of who believe that Mr. Silverman was being anti-pharma in his post. It’s entertaining reading and I leave you to draw your own conclusions out of what’s being said.

Avery Johnson from the Wall Street Journal also attended the event, and has a short post about it at the Wall Street Journal Health Blog here. It seems he didn’t get a lot of out of the “roundtable” either.

Around and about …

Mr. Silverman picks up a story from Time here about the use of antidepressants by soldiers in Iraq. I am glad that our soldiers are getting some form of help so that they can keep functioning, but I imagine that it also may be somewhat akin to slapping a quick pressure bandage over a nicked artery; good for the short term, but eventually the real problem needs to be addressed. Here’s to hoping the military will be able to follow up and take care of these soldiers’ needs.

Philip Dawdy of Furious Seasons also comments on the Time story. “One thing that mag leaves largely untouched is how these troops will do once the Iraq War is over (assuming it ever is, Afghanistan is a different story), or how they do when they rotate home,” he says. “I have even larger concerns about their long-term health and how many troops might end up not being able to get off anti-depressants. But that’s for another day.”

And speaking of antidepressants, the eDrugSearch.com Blog says these medicines are the most-searched-for prescription drug brands online.

Also from Mr. Silverman, an ex-Lilly rep is suing because her former boss sexually harassed her. There’s a thread about it already on Cafe Pharma.

And another one from Mr. Silverman, talking about the wrangle between the founder and the shareholders of Biovail.

From Pharmalot to the Drug and Device Law Blog: The White House is backing Wyeth on the pre-emption issue. Jacob Goldstein of the Wall Street Journal Health Blog has his coverage of the news here.

Merrill Goozner is in Russia blogging for Scientific American. The only Russian phrases I know, courtesy of the phrasebook for U.S. soldiers once possessed by my husband’s great-uncle (Great-Uncle John fought in Korea), translate as, “Don’t shoot! I surrender! Don’t send me to Siberia!” But Mr. Goozner IS in Siberia, so I’m sorry I can’t be more of a help …

Dr. Derek Lowe at in the Pipeline talks more about the possible wonder drug resveratrol.

Peter Pitts at DrugWonks talks about why there will be no drug importation, no matter who gets elected in November. I agree with him, mostly because FDA and companies are having a hard enough time keeping track of the sources of active pharmaceutical ingredients; adding importation makes a fine mess even messier.

Rich Meyer at World of DTC Marketing says e-prescribing will lead to more use of the Web for health.

Dr. Adam J. Fein at Drug Channels has more about the fallout from DEA’s supply-chain-focused anti-diversion strategy.

Marc Monseau at JNJBTW shares the revelation that he is blogging for everyone. He also shares some details from an analysts’ meeting.

Condor at Shearlings Got Plowed sees a trend in all the meetings Sen. Charles Grassley is scheduling.

Thomas Sullivan at Policy and Medicine takes another look at the Massachusetts gift ban legislation.

Haley Wynn at the Cutting Edge Info Blog writes that medicine prices have notably increased in the past five years. Jordan Stone at the same blog asks where is FDA in the presidential discussion?