A senior executive with Britain's biggest drugs company has admitted that most prescription medicines do not work on most people who take them.
Allen Roses, worldwide vice-president of genetics at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), said fewer than half of the patients prescribed some of the most expensive drugs actually derived any benefit from them.
It is an open secret within the drugs industry that most of its products are ineffective in most patients but this is the first time that such a senior drugs boss has gone public.
Dr Roses, an academic geneticist from Duke University in North Carolina, spoke at a recent scientific meeting in London where he cited figures on how well different classes of drugs work in real patients.
Drugs for Alzheimer's disease work in fewer than one in three patients, whereas those for cancer are only effective in a quarter of patients. Drugs for migraines, for osteoporosis, and arthritis work in about half the patients, Dr Roses said.
Most drugs work in fewer than one in two patients mainly because the recipients carry genes that interfere in some way with the medicine, he said.
"The vast majority of drugs - more than 90 per cent - only work in 30 or 50 per cent of the people," Dr Roses said.
"I wouldn't say that most drugs don't work. I would say that most drugs work in 30 to 50 per cent of people. Drugs out there on the market work, but they don't work in everybody."
Some industry analysts said Dr Roses's comments were reminiscent of the 1991 gaffe by Gerald Ratner, the jewelry boss, who famously said that his high street shops are successful because they sold "total crap".
But others believe Dr Roses deserves credit for being honest about a little-publicized fact known to the drugs industry for many years.
"Roses is a smart guy and what he is saying will surprise the public but not his colleagues," said one industry scientist.
Alzheimer's: 30
Analgesics (Cox-2): 80
Asthma: 60
Cardiac Arrhythmias: 60
Depression (SSRI): 62
Diabetes: 57
Hepatitis C (HCV): 47
Incontinence: 40
Migraine (acute): 52
Migraine (prophylaxis)50
Oncology: 25
Rheumatoid arthritis: 50
Schizophrenia: 60
Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1208-02.htm
Prefer Safe, Natural Remedies Instead?
Boost Cellular Energy With D-Ribose
Reverse Memory Loss With Vinpocetine
Pregnenolone: The Happiness Hormone
DMG: The Anti-Aging Nutrient of the 21st Century
Boost Sexual Libido With Maca Root
CMO: The 30-Day Arthritis Pain Cure
Hoodia: Eliminates Hunger Pang All Day Long
Jubilee 3: Repairing Arthritic Joints, Naturally
Make Your Own Colloidal Silver Inexpensively
Real-Life Colloidal Silver Success Stories
Colloidal Silver Update (News & Views)
The Ultimate Colloidal Silver Manual
The Colloidal Silver Secrets Video
Colloidal Silver Kills Viruses
Colloidal Silver Secrets Group on Facebook
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment