Carlat has linked to the AHRP in his list of sites labeled "Great Pharma Information". This induced a rant from Goldberg in which he called the folks at AHRP "whack jobs." I have likewise linked the AHRP on my blogroll, so I suppose I am equally guilty. Goldberg is also hot under the collar about Carlat linking to Prescription Access Litigation. Those greedy lawyers linked to PAL are just suing drugmakers to line their own pockets, or at least that's the Goldberg argument. The problem is that it has taken litigation to unearth the infamous Zyprexa documents, which have suggested strongly that Lilly's marketing of Zyprexa was waaaaaaay out of line (1, 2, 3 ). Are the lawyers set to make out like bandits in these lawsuits? Sure. But how else are corporations to be held accountable for pushing drugs for inappropriate uses or masking side effects of their products?
And more from Goldberg...
Let Carlat ally himself with anti-science extremists and tort lawyers. In the wake of the SSRI-suicide debacle I will put my trust in the so-called pharma-academic complex any dayOh, Goldberg is apparently in the SSRI's are never linked to suicidality camp? Not sure, but it looks that way. He may want to refresh his knowledge on such matters here or here. Oh, but I guess that actually looking at the data from clinical trials and noting that it indicates SSRIs are related to a greater incidence of suicidal acts than placebo makes me a "whack job." That's for y'all to decide, I suppose.
Here's the deal with Wonks and Goldberg. He is defending his industry. He appears defensive and threatened by anyone who speaks out about the dangers of any medication, and if he was really wanting to be heard or thought of as credible he would make statements instead of pissed off bitch-slaps. To bitch-slap the AHRP, makes him look like a bully at Kindergarten recess. I can never see his point because he never gets to one. I find it interesting, because he clearly needs power, has felt it from the industry he represents, and he and it are losing that powerful ground every single day that any one of us whack jobs says anything against Pharma.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you did not link to him in your post.
Bear in mind that a "whack job" is someone who disagrees with a psychiatrist. It doesn't matter if the psychiatrist is wrong; by definition the patient is the one with the illness.
ReplyDeleteOh This Drug Wonks Web Site Is nothing more than Pharma counter propaganda...
ReplyDeleteI wouldnt worry about it..
Its a crap blog, and its so blatantly biased in pharmas favour ..
Its juvenile, transparent, and insincere...
Firstly, I want to thank you for alerting me to this latest idiotic attack upon me. I haven't commented on it in my own blog yet because it's such a sophomoric posting. This is how Goldberg spends his time? Complaining about my links?!! This is typical for Pharma apologists. Rather than debate on the merits of an issue, go personal or go trivial. Goldberg went gleefully personal on me on his prior Carlat posting, and now he's casting about wildly for other ways to say bad things about me. Maybe it's time that he actually address the issue: the corruption of the commercial CME enterprise. By the way, I would post this comment on Drug Wonks, but guess what: Goldberg has never published my comments. Score one for censorship!
ReplyDeleteStephany,
ReplyDeleteInteresting analysis -- thanks. I decided it was not worth the .html to link to it!
Anon,
A lot to agree with there...
CS,
I wouldn't use such a broad brush to paint all psychiatrists as so power hungry.
Danny,
You summarized it quite well. It's really quite the fishing expedition by Goldberg and friends to dig up any kind of strange or irrelevant dirt on those who dare question the good folks at Big Pharma.
To my knowledge, Drug Wonks publishes no reader comments. If they're so into the free market, it is funny that they are so frightened by the free sharing of a variety of views! I know of several people who have tried to leave comments on their blog to no avail.
I didn't mean to insinuate that all psychiatrists are power hungry, but rather that if you go to a podiatrist, no matter what differences of opinion you may have about your treatment, these are merely differences of opinion. If you, however, go to a psychiatrist, there is this looming sense that if any differences of opinion arises, the onus is on you to prove that you are not wrong; disagreements quickly become not only a sign of different opinions, but of pathology.
ReplyDeleteThe drugwonks are obviously and gratuitously abusing this inherent danger.