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The Food and Drug Administration has significantly improved its relationship with the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, but a recent survey shows that the agency still needs to work to eliminate unnecessary delays in approving new products and devices.

A bill establishing a "fair drug pricing board," which would set prices for pharmaceuticals in the state of Maine, passed the Maine legislature. Unlike a similar bill in Vermont, which, as of press time, had yet to be voted on in the Vermont House of Representatives, the Maine bill passed both the Senate and the House and awaits only a signature from the state's governor, Angus King.

With the cost of prescription drugs on the rise, several HMOs are asking their members to save costs by splitting their psychotropic medications in half, but the cost savings may not outweigh the risks, according to some doctors.

"The Medicare Drug Coverage Preservation Act of 2000," a bill that would guarantee Medicare coverage of certain injectable drugs, was introduced in the House by Health and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Michael Bilirakis (R-FL).

Bill would limit gifts, allow sampling

One physician's candid view of reps and their tactics.

Treatment for upper gastrointestinal problems, such as chronic heartburn, reflux and ulcers has been improving for the past three years, according to a new study conducted by Caredata.com an Atlanta, GA-based online syndicator of healthcare content.

According to a brand study from Corporate Branding, LLC, a Stamford, CT-based brand strategy and communications firm, Johnson & Johnson retained its title as the pharmaceutical industry's strongest brand for 1999. Pharmacia & Upjohn and Bristol-Myers Squibb took second and third respectively, holding onto their 1998 spots.

A new survey by Rx Remedy Information Services, a Mercerville-NJ provider of syndicated information on consumer-reported healthcare, reveals that the majority of the mature audience (50 years and older) for healthcare ads are sophisticated consumers of healthcare information.

Everyone has bad days, but do you know how to make the best of them?

According to the Express Scripts Top Ten, a report released by pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts, new prescription drugs, empowered consumers and aging baby boomers led the top ten developments on the pharmaceutical landscape in 1999.

"One of the reasons why I have done so well in this business," said national sales award winning TAP representative Janna Wynne, "is that I am a native of Charleston, South Carolina - and that helps with relationships, which are key to my success." Celebrating her five-year anniversary with TAP last month, Wynne has much more on her side than her hometown status alone. She serves as an advisor to the local independent physicians' association and has earned the esteem of office staffs, doctors, peers and management with a strong work ethic, loyalty and a dedication to building professional relationships based on respect and education.

A new report examining significant increases in online advertising among top pharmaceutical companies has been released by AdRelevance, a Seattle-based Internet advertising measurement and tracking company.

An interview with Mark Callahan.

A 10-year study conducted by the national headache foundation reveals that patient treatment patterns for migraine have not kept pace with major scientific breakthroughs in the field.

A report recently released by the Medicare Trustees projected that the life of the Medicare Trust Fund has been extended until 2023 – eight years longer than had been projected last year. This is a major change from 1993, when President Clinton received the trustees report projecting that Medicare would become insolvent in 1999.

The Food and Drug Administration sent a letter to drug manufacturers encouraging them to develop medications to treat pediatric cancer.

One rep shares his remedy for field competitiveness.

According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (vol. 283, no. 8) prescriptions of mood-altering drugs in two to four year olds increased from the years 1991 to 1995. The study examined three psychotropic medication classes: stimulants, antidepressants and neuroleptics, and looked at pharmacy data in patients from two Medicaid programs and one HMO finding that "Sizeable increases in prevalence were noted between 1991 and 1995 across the three sites for clonidine, stimulants and antidepressants while neuroleptic use increased only slightly." The study concluded, however, that, because of the number of medications with off-label indications, community-based, multidimensional outcome studies would be called for.

President Clinton received and endorsed a set of "Prescription Drug Principles" from Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), which will be used by the Senate Democratic Caucus to evaluate any Medicare prescription drug benefit proposal developed in Congress. The principles state that any drug benefit should be: voluntary, accessible to all beneficiaries, designed to provide meaningful protection and bargaining power for seniors, affordable for all beneficiaries and for the program, administered using competitive purchasing techniques and consistent with broader Medicare reform.

Web-based technology is changing the way reps train.

Researchers at the Duke University Medical Center have discovered that HIV patients who take fewer pills tend to do better than patients on a more complex medical regimen. Based on an analysis of more than 3,000 patients involved in triple-drug combination trials to treat HIV infection, researchers speculate that patients who take fewer pills, as few as four a day, are more likely to adhere to their medication regimen - and therefore receive the greatest benefits of the therapy – than those on complex regimens who must take up to 16 pills at different times during the day.

Results of a new survey detailing the attitudes of consumers toward direct-to-consumer print and television advertising for pharmaceuticals have been released by the Food and Drug Administration's Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communications.

A new study by Management Recruiters International, a Cleveland-based search and recruitment company, shows that, as the Internet has become increasingly popular in the workplace, many pharmaceutical companies are adopting formal policies about its use.

Pfizer Inc., New York, and Warner-Lambert Co., Morris Plains, NJ, announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. The combined company will have annual revenues of approximately $28 billion, including $21 billion in prescription pharmaceutical sales.

Fashion rules for reps.

The National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease recently issued an updated version of the "Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV-infected Adults and Adolescents" at www.hivatis.gov.

Physician prescribing habits can be influenced by samples, continuing medical education sponsorships and conference travel funding, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (vol. 283, no. 3).