Posted by Dopamine123 on March 3, 2008, at 15:34:09
In reply to Re: invitation to help set the tone here, posted by Dr. Bob on March 3, 2008, at 3:03:18
> The only reason that they have this new drug is so they can get a longer patent and make more money.
"I might consider the above an exaggeration or overgeneralization"
I'm not sure what you mean when you say thats an exaggeration. Perhaps "only" was a poor choice of words, as I don't want to sound like I'm disparaging the free market. However, the main reason that pharmaceutical companies market any new drug is to make a profit. I'm not specifically against pharmaceutical companies making profits, but I don't need to pretend that Wyeth is creating a drug that offers a substantial difference over the existing Effexor. I actually think that new drugs such as Pristiq are good because they lead to more competition and more choice. Pristiq, though, is Wyeth's attempt at extending the patent of Effexor. So in response to AMYII's specific question, I wouldn't expect the side effect profile of Pristiq to be any different than that of Effexor.
http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2008/03/03/wyeth-gets-a-couple-of-fda-wins.aspx
> The new version of Effexor, named Pristiq, is Wyeth's attempt at extending the sales lifecycle of its Effexor franchise, which begins to face patent expirations this year."
> "Getting second-generation drugs approved to replace their hit predecessor drugs is a mainstay of extending the sales life of many big pharma drugs."
I haven't seen anything to indicate that this drug is any better than soon to be off-patent and thus cheaper, Effexor. Pristiq is only worthwhile as an alternative to Effexor.
Top 5 reasons to forget about pristiq.
http://carlatpsychiatry.blogspot.com/2008/03/top-5-reasons-to-forget-about-pristiq.html
poster:Dopamine123
thread:814459
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080303/msgs/815986.html