2023 News

PharmedOut In the News - 2023

November 2023

• November 15: Research Associate Dave Stanke and Dr. Fugh-Berman published, "Cover hearing aids, not questionable Alzheimer's drug," in The Chicago Tribune. 

• November 22: "Targeting Black and Hispanic communities for dementia drugs," by Caroline Renko and Naisa Rahman was published in the Washington Times. The op-ed exposes how Biogen is targeting Black and Latinx populations for Aduhelm (aducanumab) even though the drug wasn't tested in these populations.

September 2023

• September: Dr. Fugh-Berman was a guest on the AMA Journal of Ethics podcast episode, "Ethics Talk: Medical Device Representatives in the Surgical Suite."

• September 17: Judy Butler's op-ed, "Caution warranted before using new Alzheimer's drug," exposed marketing messages and misleading claims in Biogen's "educational" website, targeting physicians, on mild cognitive impairment. 

August 2023

• August 6: Dr. Fugh-Berman was a guest on Connecticut Public Radio’s Where We Live episode, “Opioid Use Disorder: A Growing Epidemic Within An Epidemic.” In this episode, she explained the role of patient advocacy groups in opioid marketing, and dentists' opioid prescription habits  

• August 21: Dr. Fugh-Berman was interviewed for this story in Kaiser Health News that exposed the close relationships between medical device sales representatives and surgeons.

May 2023

• Judy Butler’s May fodder covers the FDA’s proposal for new studies on long-term use of opioids. Read it here!

• Caroline Renko testified in support of nonprescription use of Opill (norgestrel), a once daily oral contraceptive to prevent pregnancy at the Food and Drug Administration’s Joint Meeting of the Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee and the Obstetrics, Reproductive and Urologic Drugs Advisory Committee Meeting on May 9th. Her written comment can be found here.

• Caroline Renko was quoted in “FDA advisers unanimously back over-the-counter birth control pill” in Nature on May 11th. She said, “Women can understand labels, including contraindications,” and “These patronizing concerns are not grounds to take away a woman’s choice from her.”  

April 2023

• Judy Butler’s April fodder looks at an unbranded marketing campaign for Amgen’s latest drug, Tezspire. Read it here!

• Dr. Fugh-Berman was quoted in “Why experts worry the 'magic' in new weight loss medications carries a dark side” in USA Today on April 2nd. While discussing the efficacy of drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, she said “It's not clear you're going to get improved health outcomes from weight loss medications”.

• Dr. Fugh-Berman was quoted in “Accelerated Approval: US FDA, Covis Navigate Novel Issues With Makena’s Withdrawal” in Pink Sheet on April 11th. She said, “It's outrageous that [Covis subsidiary] AMAG continues to promote the drug after the FDA ordered it off the market – and turned down the company’s request to wind down use. Makena should have been taken off the market years ago.”

• Judy Butler and Dr. Fugh-Berman published “Why weight loss drugs are not the answer to obesity” (4/15) on KevinMD.com.

• Judy Butler was quoted in “Social Media Is Fueling Enthusiasm for New Weight Loss Drugs. Are Regulators Watching?” in KFF Health News on April 18. Of the pharmaceutical industry she said, "They talk about trying to destigmatize obesity at the same time they're talking about losing weight. They're co-opting the concept.”

March 2023

• Judy Butler’s March fodder examines Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug marketing practices. Read it here!

• Caroline Renko testified at the FDA’s Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drug Advisory Committee on Biogen’s amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) drug, tofersen, on March 22nd. Find her public comment here.

• Dr. Fugh-Berman gave a presentation on the influence of industry-funded patient advocacy groups at the Georgia State College of Law symposium on “Public Health Administrative State Under Fire: Restoring Trust in the CDC and FDA” on March 24th. 

• PharmedOut released the third episode of Pharmanipulation on March 29th, “Paying Attention to ADHD: Diagnosis and Treatment in Children.” We interviewed Dr. Gretchen LeFever Watson and Robert Whitaker on ADHD diagnoses and treatments.

• PharmedOut alum and second-year med student at Tulane, Vi Nguyen, published “Primordial prevention: Reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in racial/ethnic populations” in American Heart Journal Plus: Cardiology Research and Practice this March! Her work was also published in Tulane News. Congratulations, Vi!

• Dr. Fugh-Berman was quoted in “Why do pharmaceutical companies give away some expensive drugs for free?” in Marketplace on March 31st. On the topic of financial assistance programs offered by pharmaceutical manufacturers, she said “They really will do anything to avoid government regulation of drug prices.”

February 2023

• Judy Butler’s February fodder takes a look at education streaming services for healthcare providers: for example, Netflix-style short educational videos funded by pharmaceutical companies. Read it here!

• Dr. Fugh-Berman was quoted in “What is the lawsuit against CVS and Walmart? Chains targeted over homeopathic product sales” (2/2) in USA Today. She said, “Homeopathic preparations should be available for those who know what they are and want to use them, but no one should inadvertently buy sugar pills.”

• PharmedOut’s Pharmanipulation Podcast's February 15th episode is now available! Our second episode was on the topic of sunscreen and the overdiagnosis of melanoma with Dr. Adewole Adamson.

• Dr. Fugh-Berman was quoted in “The Truth About Testosterone and Your Libido” (2/17) in Men’s Health. She said, “Most men need insight, not drugs.”

• Dr. Fugh-Berman gave a presentation on dentists and opioids at the Dupont Summit on Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy on February 17th.

January 2023

• PharmedOut signed on to a letter to The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that supported its Coverage with Evidence Development decision for aducanumab and similar drugs, including lecanemab, which received accelerated approval from the FDA on January 6th. In line with our previous support for CMS’ decision, PharmedOut supports CMS upholding its limited coverage decision for lecanemab, an Alzheimer’s drug with safety concerns and questionable efficacy.

• Judy Butler’s first fodder of 2023 takes a look at Novo Nordisk’s marketing campaign for Wegovy (semaglutide). Be sure to read here!

• PharmedOut’s Pharmanipulation Podcast is now available! We launched our first episode this January of 2023; the second episode will be out in early February. If you haven’t already, click here to listen to Episode 1, “Unlocking Pharma’s Secrets,” on Spotify (you don’t need a Spotify account to listen). It’s a primer on pharmaceutical marketing tactics, industry influence on medical knowledge, and invented diseases. We plan to release a new episode each month.

• Dr. Fugh-Berman published “Too soon to celebrate new Alzheimer’s drug” in The Baltimore Sun on January 23rd. It explains why Leqembi, Biogen and Eisai’s latest Alzheimer’s drug, is ineffective and dangerous; it also exposes the Alzheimer’s Association and UsAgainstAlzheimer’s appalling support of this new drug. The op-ed was featured in Kaiser Health News’ Morning Briefing, and was republished in the Miami Herald, The Marin Independent Journal, The Bradford Era, and Gwinnett Daily Post.

• Dr. Fugh-Berman spoke about industry support of consumer advocacy groups at Georgetown University's Women in Public Policy Initiative event on health policy and breast cancer on January 25.