As part of a federal inquiry into drug and medical-device marketing, Boston Scientific Corp. was asked by Congress last week to submit to investigators internal documents, marketing plans, and clinical data related to its top-selling product, the Taxus drug-coated stent. Full Story »
Posted by Michael Townes Watson
This story is a good report on how the pharmaceutical industry uses powerful marketing campaigns to launch their products for use. Recent data shows that while drug-coated stents can decrease the rate at which patients need to return for new heart procedures, they also slightly raise the risk of long-term clotting over the older, cheaper stents. While stents were safe and effective when used on the subset of heart patients for which they were initially approved, a large number of patients who fall outside those guidelines still receive drug-coated stents. The article does not delve into the extent to which other pharmaceutical companies utilize the same practices in marketing their drugs and medical devices.
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