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| Glaxo CEO, Andrew Witty |
GSK Head, Andrew Witty and his recent announcement about transparency could possibly be believed if one were inclined to be gullable. See here, Glaxo's Murky Transparency Claim
He blamed the recent $3 billion guilty plea for off-label promotion of GSK drugs that not only harmed but killed people on an era. See here, GlaxoSmithKline: The Andrew Witty "Era"
Do we, as consumers, really think Andrew Witty is being sincere with his latest offering? He, as recent as last year, refused to meet with Janice Simmons, founder of the Seroxat User Group, to discuss the 15,000 emails she has amassed from patients who are struggling to withdraw from his company's antidepressant, Seroxat. See here, **Exclusive - GSK's Andrew Witty in Patient Aftercare Snub
Witty's backroom staff and predecessor's have also made promises and outrageous statements in the past.
Glaxo, and indeed other pharmaceutical companies, are always telling doctor's and patients about the benefit vs risk of taking their antidepressant medications.
Like Witty, I'm coming up with my own benefit vs risk ratio. Can he, or indeed his company, GSK, be trusted to deliver the goods this time around?
History would suggest otherwise.
"What we have seen in terms of the anecdotal reports (of Paxil withdrawal) is that it happens very rarely." - Dr. David Wheadon Senior Vice President GlaxoSmithKline Regulatory Affairs and Product Professional Services - 8/25/2000
"First of all let me say that we, as a manufacturer of pharmaceutical products and vaccines, take any report of an adverse event on any of our products, seriously." - Dr. David Wheadon Senior Vice President GlaxoSmithKline Regulatory Affairs and Product Professional Services - 1/31/2001
"I think you have to develop a culture where if there is bad news you don’t sit on bad news. Bad news does not get any better. It can only get better if it’s admitted, understood and addressed." - Robert (Bob) Ingram Vice Chairman, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals - 8/25/2002
"These problems (discontinuation reactions) are just the body’s adjustment when you stop taking medicines. It takes more than that to be addictive." - Mary Anne Rhyne GlaxoSmithKline spokesperson - 8/21/2002
"We are all in favour of this being scrutinized all the time, because it is not in our interests to have a product on the market that is not safe or effective." - Jean-Pierre Garnier Chief Executive Officer GlaxoSmithKline - 2/15/2002
"Our concern is people’s safety." - Jean-Pierre Garnier Chief Executive Officer, GlaxoSmithKline - 3/1/2003
"I utterly refute any allegations we are sitting on data, that (we) have withheld data or anything like that. We have provided all the data both relating to safety and efficacy in the pediatric population to the regulatory authorities around the world and have hidden nothing". - Dr. Alastair Benbow Head of European Psychiatry for GlaxoSmithKline - 6/15/2003
"We take the safety of our medicines extremely seriously…" - Dr. Alastair Benbow GlaxoSmithKline’s European Medical Director Source: GSK’s web site - 2004
"We are a high-integrity company. We know what the rules are and we follow them." - Jean-Pierre Garnier Chief Executive Officer, GlaxoSmithKline - 6/6/2004
"The evidence, however, is clear, these medicines are not linked with suicide, these medicines are not linked with an increased rate of self harm." - Dr. Alastair Benbow GlaxoSmithKline’s European Medical Director 10/3/2004
"We have acted responsibly in conducting clinical studies in pediatric patients and the dissemination of the results. We would strongly disagree with any allegation that we have done otherwise." - Dr. Tadataka Yamada Chairman of Research and Development GlaxoSmithKline - 6/19/2004
"Corporate responsibility is not just a job for selected people at GSK, it defines the way we do business. Our ten corporate responsibility principles set the standard for everyone, since responsible business is only a reality if it is practised by all employees at all times." - Christopher Gent GlaxoSmithKline Chaiman Jean-Pierre Garnier GlaxoSmithKline CEO GlaxoSmithKline - 2004 (Corporate Responsibility Report)
"We follow the law, and we follow government guidelines." - Mary Anne Rhyne GlaxoSmithKline spokesperson - 8/26/2005
"If ‘discontinuation reactions’ occur in patients stopping (Paxil), the majority will experience symptoms that are mild to moderate in intensity, and are usually limited to two weeks." - Mary Anne Rhyne GlaxoSmithKline spokesperson - 2005
"Drugs like Seroxat (Paxil) have been around for almost a decade and help millions of people fight depression. There’s no reliable scientific evidence to show they cause withdrawal symptoms or dependency." - Alan Chandler GlaxoSmithKline spokesperson
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