Drug Companies

WASHINGTON -- Federal health officials want to alter the foundations of the system entrusted with making sure new drugs are safe and effective. By streamlining the way scientists determine a new drug's safety and effectiveness, advocates say, new cures can be delivered to dying patients much more quickly. But many scientists outside Washington say this effort, spearheaded by the Bush administration and drug companies, could rush new treatments to market too quickly - and wind up hurting rather than helping patients.

WASHINGTON -- Most cancer patients participating in studies of new treatments don't care whether their doctors or hospitals have financial ties to companies whose drugs are being tested, according to a government-sponsored study published today. About 80 percent of patients surveyed by researchers for the National Institutes of Health said they were "not worried at all" by the ties and said they would still take part in the drug trials if their doctor or hospital owned stock or received royalties from the corporate sponsor.

WASHINGTON -- With millions of seniors facing premium increases for their Medicare prescription plans, Democrats say they have a solution: Use the government's buying power to bargain for rock-bottom drug prices. The Department of Veterans Affairs does it for 5 million patients, they point out, so why not Medicare with its 43 million? Medicare sets rates for hospitals, doctors and medical equipment such as power wheelchairs -- as well as drugs administered in doctors' offices. It was only the Republicans' ideological commitment to the private sector that led them to bar the government from negotiating discounts with drug companies, Democrats contend.

Republican Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele's campaign for U.S. Senate began airing a television commercial yes terday that contrasted Democratic U.S. Rep. Benja min L. Cardin's declarations of independence from special interests with the amounts of money he has received from drug, oil and insurance companies. What the ad says: After the obligatory claim of re sponsibility -- "I'm Michael Steele, and I approved this message" -- it's all Cardin: His is the only face seen and the only voice heard for the rest of the 30-second spot.

Wal-Mart's decision to sell a wide range of generic drugs for $4 per prescription calls the bluff of pharmaceutical industry claims that it can't function without a huge profit cushion. Further, Wal-Mart's bold new tactic may illustrate the hollowness of federal government fears that Medicare could not adopt a similar policy for fear of harmfully distorting the market through price-fixing. This experiment has months to play out before its full impact is known, but competitors are rushing to match the low prices.

WASHINGTON -- A senior researcher at the National Institutes of Health engaged in "serious misconduct" by entering into dozens of unauthorized private arrangements with drug companies and failing to report annually the outside income, totaling more than $100,000, a confidential internal review by the agency has found. Officials at the NIH concluded late last year that the actions of Dr. Thomas J. Walsh, who has helped lead major clinical trials involving cancer patients, might result in dismissal from federal government service.

At Casa Mia's restaurant near White Marsh, 10 cooks begin constructing sandwiches, forming crab cakes and layering lasagna in foil trays each weekday morning at 6. Working on folding buffet tables, the crew pours condiments into little plastic containers, packs sodas and ice into coolers and swathes trays of hot foods in thermal wraps. At 10:30, eight to 10 drivers start loading the catering orders into their cars. Their destination: medical offices and hospitals from Elkton to Annapolis.

As a pharmacist, I feel discouraged about the unreasonable prices of prescription medicines. I used to get excited about new drugs, but now I only feel disgust. I know that the cost will be too much for most consumers. We always hear that research is why medicines cost so much. But how do drug companies explain the cost of older drugs such as Thalomid, which costs thousands of dollars for a month's supply? What a mess this is. The government is always talking about lower costs for seniors, but it nitpicks the reimbursement to pharmacies.

WASHINGTON -- A Civil War-era law designed to root out fraudulent Army contracts has been quietly employed by whistleblowers and federal prosecutors in recent years as a powerful tool for cracking down on pharmaceutical companies wrongly promoting their drugs. Companies prosecuted under the federal False Claims Act have paid nearly $3.5 billion in penalties since 2001 for giving doctors televisions, selling them drugs at undisclosed discounts and taking other improper steps to encourage sales.

It's projected to cost $724 billion over the next 10 years. It's expected to enroll nearly 30 million seniors and people with disabilities. It relies on private insurance companies to deliver a big new government benefit. It begins today. And as experts discuss the new Medicare prescription benefit, one word keeps recurring: experiment. "It's a fascinating social experiment in using private sector resources to deliver a social benefit," said Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere Health LLC, a Washington consulting firm.