How to Polish a Turd, the GSK Way

A recent interview with Glaxo's Andrew Witty saw BBC journalist, Evan Davis, more or less told how to phrase questions. Davis had broached the subject of Glaxo's murky past - Witty, using the art of deflection, told Davis, "I think the bigger question is, where do you want to go forward?"

So, how do you polish a turd?

Well, you talk about what you have in the pipeline, (excuse the pun) thus eliminating tricky questions about the following...



6/4/2015 - India Meningitis Vaccine Market Collusion - GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis - $9,442,587

9/15/2014 - Clean Air Act Violation at Hamilton, MT Facility - GlaxoSmithKline - $172,900

8/11/2014 - Hazardous Waste Violations in King of Prussia - GlaxoSmithKline - $317,550

6/4/2014 - Multistate Illegal Marketing Settlement - GlaxoSmithKline - $105,000,000

5/13/2014 - China Bribery and Fraud - GlaxoSmithKline - $487,000,000

3/25/2014 - Mylan v. GlaxoSmithKline (Breach of Generic Paxil Agreements) - GlaxoSmithKline - $106,700,000

3/18/2014 - Contaminated Drug Ingredients at Ireland Plant - GlaxoSmithKline - FDA Warning Letter

12/17/2013 - Maryland Diabetes Drug Improper Marketing Lawsuit - GlaxoSmithKline - $15,000,000

7/24/2013 - Multistate Avandia Settlement (July 2013) - GlaxoSmithKline  - $184,000,000

6/14/2013 - Cappellino v. GlaxoSmithKline (Gender Discrimination) - GlaxoSmithKline - Complaint

4/19/2013 - OFT Paroxetine Antitrust Investigation - GlaxoSmithKline - U.K. Office of Fair Trading Press Release

2/5/2013 - Louisiana Off-Label Marketing Lawsuit - GlaxoSmithKline - $45,000,000

11/15/2012 - Multistate Avandia Settlement (November 2012) - GlaxoSmithKline - $90,000,000

11/15/2012 - Flonase Antitrust Litigation - GlaxoSmithKline - $150,000,000

7/9/2012 - Dolin v. GlaxoSmithKline (Paxil Wrongful Death) - GlaxoSmithKline - Complaint

4/17/2012 - Idaho Average Wholesale Price Lawsuit - GlaxoSmithKline - $2,600,000

2/7/2012 - Defrauding Louisiana’s Medicaid Program - GlaxoSmithKline - $10,000,000

1/11/2012 - Argentina Vaccine Trials Fine - GlaxoSmithKline - $93,000

11/3/2011 - Criminal and Civil Investigations Settlement - GlaxoSmithKline - $3,000,000,000

10/27/2011 - South Korea Antitrust Fine - GlaxoSmithKline - $2,651,737

10/7/2011 - Current Good Manufacturing Practice Violations at Worthing, UK Facility - GlaxoSmithKline - FDA Warning Letter

6/27/2011 - Nigeria Trademark Infringement - GlaxoSmithKline - $7,873,706

6/23/2011 - Puerto Rico Drug Manufacturing Facility Settlement - GlaxoSmithKline - $40,750,000

5/17/2011 - South Carolina Attorney General Avandia Lawsuit - GlaxoSmithKline - Complaint

2/15/2011 - Louisiana Attorney General Avandia Lawsuit - GlaxoSmithKline - Complaint

11/17/2010 - Humana v. GlaxoSmithKline (Reimbursement for Avandia-Related Injuries) - GlaxoSmithKline - Complaint

11/9/2010 - Utah Attorney General Avandia Lawsuit - GlaxoSmithKline - $8,500,000

10/26/2010 - Puerto Rico Drug Manufacturing Facility Settlement - GlaxoSmithKline - $750,000,000

10/6/2010 - Hawaii Average Wholesale Price Litigation - GlaxoSmithKline - $10,000,000

8/30/2010 - Kentucky Kytril and Zofran Average Wholesale Price Lawsuit - GlaxoSmithKline - $3,750,000

7/12/2010 - U.S. Senate Investigation of Avandia - GlaxoSmithKline - Senate Finance Committee Letter to FDA

6/23/2010 - Paxil Birth Defect Litigation - GlaxoSmithKline - Confidential settlement with 190 families 

4/19/2010 - FDA Review of Altabax Promotional Material - GlaxoSmithKline - FDA Warning Letter

10/13/2009 - Kilker v. SmithKline Beecham (Paxil Birth Defects) - GlaxoSmithKline - $2,500,000

10/1/2009 - Denture Cream Product Liability Litigation - GlaxoSmithKline - Complaint

12/23/2008 - Santa Clara County Drug Pricing Lawsuit - GlaxoSmithKline, Wyeth - Complaint

9/30/2008 - Paxil Class Action (National) - GlaxoSmithKline - $40,000,000

7/26/2008 - Medicines Australia Code of Conduct Violations - GlaxoSmithKline - $310,000

7/21/2008 - Relenza Litigation Settlement - GlaxoSmithKline - $19,500,000

5/19/2008 - Release of TCE in Scottsdale, AZ - GlaxoSmithKline - EPA Press Release

5/2/2008 - Wellbutrin Direct Purchaser Antitrust Litigation - GlaxoSmithKline - $49,500,000

2/27/2008 - Bartram v. GlaxoSmithKline (Paxil Birth Defects) - GlaxoSmithKline - Complaint

12/17/2007 - Avandia Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation - GlaxoSmithKline - $770,000,000

10/6/2006 - Paxil Class Action Litigation (Madison County, IL) GlaxoSmithKline - $63,833,148

9/11/2006 - Under-reporting Profits - GlaxoSmithKline - $3,400,000,000

7/10/2006 - Cunningham v. GSK (Paxil Wrongful Death) - GlaxoSmithKline - Complaint

3/28/2006 - Paxil Multistate Litigation - NY Attorney General Settlement - GlaxoSmithKline - $14,000,000

9/20/2005 - Zofran and Kytril False Claims Act Violations - GlaxoSmithKline - $150,000,000

4/1/2005 - Relafen Multistate Litigation - NY Attorney General Settlement - GlaxoSmithKline - $10,000,000

11/24/2004 - Relafen Consumer Litigation - GlaxoSmithKline - $75,000,000

8/26/2004 - Paxil New York Litigation - GlaxoSmithKline - $2,500,000

7/8/2004 - Augmentin Antitrust Litigation - GlaxoSmithKline - $92,000,000

2/6/2004 - Relafen Antitrust Litigation - GlaxoSmithKline - $175,000,000

4/16/2003 - Overcharging Medicaid - GlaxoSmithKline - $87,600,000

9/6/2002 - Average Wholesale Price (AWP) Drug Litigation - GlaxoSmithKline - $70,000,000

6/6/2001 - Tobin v. SmithKline Beecham (Paxil Wrongful Death) - GlaxoSmithKline - $6,400,000


**TOTAL - $10,057,614,485 (That's 10 billion, folks!)


**Federal Contractor Misconduct Database


There are many more missing from the Federal Contractor Misconduct Database, most notably the settlement (resolution) GSK made with over 3,000 Paxil plaintiffs who alleged the drug had caused them addiction problems, Also missing is the individual payment made to Pennsylvania mother Joanne Thomas who settled with GSK after losing her original case against them, see here and here.
The UK Seroxat Group Action is also missing from the list. The claim alleges that UK consumers become dependent upon the antidepressant, Seroxat. (Paxil)

Then, of course, we have the on-gong investigations of bribery and corruption in the following countries, United Kingdom, Iraq, Poland, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Oman, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates.

The mission of GSK, according to their website, is to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.

(Insert laughter here)



Bob Fiddaman

Actos With SSRi - Complete Madness!

An article appeared in yesterday's Daily Mail highlighted a published paper that suggested taking Pioglitazone [Actos] in conjunction with SSRi's could boost the effect of the antidepressant.

SSRi's, such as Seroxat, Cipramil, Prozac!

The study, published in Neuropsychopharmacology, an international scientific journal, is yet another example of poor research skills by the authors of the paper and by the journal itself.

Actos, manufactured by Japanese company, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, has recently hit the headlines in the US for causing bladder cancer in patients. Many lawsuits have been filed, not to mention the lives that have been damaged by the prolonged use of this particular diabetes medication.

As for SSRi medication, well we all know how dangerous they can be and we all know how the UK regulator likes to play down those dangers such as suicide, akathesia, homicidal thoughts and horrendous withdrawal problems.

When studies, such as the one in Neuropsychopharmacology appear, it would be of huge benefit if the UK regulator, the MHRA, actually wrote to the authors or the journal to warn them of the bladder cancer risk with Actos. A 2011 warning on their website does not cover them in garlands neither does it alter the fact that they are responsible for safeguarding human health, a line that they proudly boast at every given opportunity.

I'd write to them if I thought it would make a blind bit of difference but to be honest I'm sick and tired of their worn out phrase that the 'benefits outweigh the risks'.

No doubt doctor's up and down the country will have been told that Actos is not recommended...but they can still prescribe it if they believe the benefits outweigh the risk.

To even suggest that it could be useful if used in conjunction with SSRi's will have tapped into the psyche of those that read it. There are still doctor's that won't know about the Actos bladder cancer link and I know for a fact that there are still doctors who utterly refute any suicide link with antidepressants, they are normally the ones who like to think that the patient is never right.

The editors at Neuropsychopharmacology should, at the very least, add a warning to the recent paper, particularly when the risk of bladder cancer is 40 percent greater in patients taking Actos for longer than one year.

More about Actos and the bladder cancer link HERE





Fid


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Actos...No Better Than Avandia

Whilst browsing in a shop the other day I purchased a pair of shoes. The assistant asked me if I would like to purchase a leather care product - Good sales pitch. Obviously, I'd like my shoes the last a long time so purchasing a leather care product would benefit me...and my shoes.

When you or I visit our doctor's we are, occasionally, given bad news. "Mr Smith, I have some bad news for you, I'm afraid you have type 2 diabetes."

The initial shock of hearing such bad news is followed by, "but don't worry, it is treatable."

Years ago, and until recently, doctor's were handing out prescriptions for Avandia, a drug manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline which was recently pulled off the shelves after the European medicines regulator deemed it unsafe, they found that it caused strokes in many of those that were taking it. TheAmerican drugwatch agency, the FDA, didn't feel that it needed to be pulled off the market, opting instead for a more stern warning on the labelling. GlaxoSmithKline apparently knew of the heart stroke link...but decided not to tell anyone until they had made a pretty packet on sales of the drug.

Because Avandia was pulled off the market in Europe and because it received such bad press in America doctor's, naturally, started prescribing an alternative. Enter Actos, a drug manufactured by Japanese giants Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

News of Actos has been circulating recently, and it isn't good. Actos can cause bladder cancer and it's manufacturers knew all along that it could.

My shoe analogy at the start of this post may seem a little odd. But the retailer was warning me that my shoes may become scuffed, hence the offer of the leather care product.

Imagine, if you will, the following scenario.

Doctor: I'm afraid you have diabetes

Patient: Oh no!

Doctor: Don't worry it can be treated with either Avandia or Actos

Patient: Oh fantastic

Doctor: Would you like a heart stroke or bladder cancer with that?

Sounds like a sketch from the Monty Python team doesn't it?

Meantime, people are coming forward because they are now realising that Actos, the drug they took to help their diabetes, has actually made matters worse for them.

A suit, filed yesterday in the State of California, [Los Angeles Superior Court] by Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, P.C. alleges that three California residents and their spouses claim the diabetes drug Actos caused their bladder cancer. The full press release can be read HERE

You can read more about Actos and the bladder cancer link at .http://www.actosbladdercancer.com/

Fid


ORDER THE PAPERBACK 'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman US and CANADA HERE OR UK HERE


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Interview With the Seroquel Lawsuit Blogger

Last week [Sept 4, 2001] I highlighted the story of the Seroquel Lawsuit blogger who has took it upon himself to post the settlement package offered by Seroquel manufacturer's AstraZeneca.

A settlement package is often made in litigation cases whereby the defending party, make an offer of compensation to claimants that have made the allegations against one of its products. It is the norm for that settlement to include no admittance of liability and also a 'gagging order', which prevents those it has made the settlement with, not to speak out publicly.

AstraZeneca have offered a settlement to over 28,000 litigants that are currently part of a group action against the company. The package, which can only be described as derisory, has incensed a number of claimants and has now been posted online and made public. This has further angered AstraZeneca, lawyers representing them and lawyers representing the 28,000+ litigants.

It appears that two offers have been tabled, one by The Miller Firm LLC and one by Weitz & Luxenberg. The litigants have, it appears, also been contacted by Garretson, the court appointed claims administrator.

Moving in the circles I do, I have managed to bag an interview with the anonymous blogger. Rather than chop and use selective quotes, I decided to post the interview 'as is' for your perusal.



What made you create the Seroquel Lawsuit Blog?
The blog was started because there was nothing out there questioning anything to do with this litigation or covering the patient/victim/injured parties perspective besides what the main stream media was being spoon fed by AstraZeneca and law firms.

Here we have a powerful & dangerous antipsychotic drug being mass marketed for everything under the sun by a criminal corporation at the tune of  $5.5 billion a year in profit Couple that fact (that along with similar others drugs), that Seroquel was (and still is) permanently injuring (if not killing) many tens of thousands of people and all we hear, in relationship to this tragedy, is endless drivel about meaningless small fines, and Wall Street dollars figures.

The evidence is overwhelming and well documented that AstraZeneca did and continues to mass market and sell a drug that is unsafe by a litany of nefarious means.Meantime, our government (including the Department of Justice) looks on idol and blinded while taking a small token hush bribe, which has just further emboldened and allowed AstraZeneca to continue their criminal business as usual model, without any admission of guilt or accepting responsibility for the many crimes they have perpetrated upon the citizens of America and people around the globe.

Someone had to speak out - why not the SeroquelLawSuitBlog?

We don't have an epidemic of Psychosis in America after all, what we do have is a population mired down in the mud bog of apathy which allows corporations like AstraZeneca to disease monger and continue their criminal assault upon some of the most vulnerable populations imaginable (our children, elderly, and returning veterans).

Can you list some of the side effects caused by Seroquel?
All anyone needs to do is pull out the latest Seroquel package insert, there are over seventy pages of serious side effects: weight gain, diabetes, sudden death from cardiac related issues, metabolic issues, and the list just goes on and on as more debilitating side effects are being added all the time.

AstraZeneca knew these problems existed, but instead of conducting further testing about the myriad of safety concerns AstraZeneca buried and hid the bad news, while turning this drug over to their marketing department. Still to this day, AstraZeneca is conducting trials that are pushing for, and focused on, broadening/expanding the use of this drug for general consumption by the public. "Shameful" would be a mammoth understatement

Have you been told of the implications in publishing a 'settlement package' online?
I would hope the implication of this blog is that people become informed and knowledgeable to what is actually going on here. This is a criminal corporation that for mere pocket change and an insulting token offer  is about to walk away emboldened, unscathed, and rewarded for their unscrupulous practices. I happen to see this ongoing corporate pharmaceutical industry assault on the public as one of the greatest and horrible crimes of modern times. When you look around at what has conspired in the corporate world, banking, Wall Street, and governments currently and over the past few decades, that's saying a lot.
.
As far as these ambulance chasing law firms go, they have no doubt sold injured parties down the river for their own gain and profit. The numbers don't lie, the public needs to know about these sleazy goings on. Change won't happen until we, the public, demand and force it to happen. The days of America and populations around the world sitting back thinking someone else (the government, the courts, lawyers, FDA, Department of Justice) will take care of these problems for us has long past.

I have nothing to fear, it is quickly coming to the point in time where there will be nothing left for criminal elements to take from us. 'Too Big to Fail' really means too big and corrupted not to fail. Simply, we have a situation that is unsustainable.

If there was one message you could give to claimants in the Seroquel litigation, what would it be?
I would hope Seroquel Claimants would become informed and active participants in this process, look at the evidence, look at the numbers, start questioning, take the time to seriously consider what's really being placed on the table and think for themselves. I would hope each litigant would do a serious gut check, put this litigation and the lawyers to the smell test, follow what's in their hearts...and do the right thing.

In your mind, what would be a reasonable settlement?
That's a tough one, I believe each litigant needs to assess that question based on the level of damage done, losses incurred, suffering endured. Very difficult to place a price tag on permanent damage done to ones health or the death of a loved one.

AstraZeneca has ten billion dollars sitting in cash reserves, that is blood money made upon damaging the health of others. In a just and fair world AstraZeneca would have to place half of that money (5 billion) in a medical trust that would provide ongoing and future medical care to those they have injured ( The general public still don't seem to realize that they, the public tax payer, are being left with the financial burden of caring for those AstraZeneca has harmed). Beyond that, the other 5 billion could be a small start in compensating the victims of AstraZeneca's crimes.

But even more important than the money AstraZeneca needs to openly apologize to each injured victim and the general public while accepting full responsibility for what they have done..

Until that day comes...nothing will really change.


The Seroquel Lawsuit Blog continues to be updated on a regular basis and can be found HERE

Seroxat Lawsuit Settlements - A review

At no time did Seroxat manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, admit liability.


**Paxil is the brand name of Seroxat in the US.

Some of the successful Paxil lawsuit settlements include a case involving violent and suicidal tendency as a side effect of using Paxil. In this case a man using Paxil killed all members of his family then shot himself to death. A lawsuit was filed against GlaxoSmithKline and a settlement of $6.4 million dollars was awarded to the family of the man. [SOURCE]

Another successful Paxil lawsuit is about a case involving child birth defects. A family of a boy born with severe heart defects whose mother used Paxil during pregnancy won a lawsuit and was compensated $2.5 million. [SOURCE]

A class action lawsuit, involving users of Paxil and manufacturers in some states selling defective tablets was also filed. Such tablets broke apart or were being absorbed too fast or irregularly into the body. Paxil lawsuit settlements totaling $28 million dollars were awarded for compensation to patients who were affected in any way by defective tablets within the timeframe that the drugs were manufactured. [SOURCE]

According to information from the courts and people familiar with the cases, Paxil lawsuit settlements involving birth defects, suicide and other class action suits have cost GlaxoSmithKline over $1 billion. Successful birth defect Paxil lawsuit settlements have attracted compensation of between $1.5 -$ 4 million with over 600 cases remaining unsettled. Most suicide and suicidal tendency related cases have been settled with only a few remaining; compensation of about $2 million for suicide cases and $300,000 or attempted suicide. Other cases related to addiction, withdrawal symptoms and side effects attract around $50,000. - September 7, 2011 - Author: D. Jefferson


Remarkably, Seroxat is still given a clean bill of health from the UK medicines regulator, the MHRA, this despite there being at total number of 32,919 reports of 'reactions', 10,568 of which have been 'adverse reactions.' To cap it all, the MHRA still believe Seroxat to be safe and effective and also believe that the benefits of taking Seroxat outweigh the risks. They report that there have been 177 reports of fatalities whilst patients have been on Seroxat. [Fig 1]

Fig 1

In 1997 Glaxo reps were told to 'play down' the withdrawal problem with Seroxat [FULL STORY]

In 2011, GlaxoSmithKline will still not help consumers suffering severe withdrawal problems from their product. [FULL STORY]

Alasdair Breckenridge is Chairman of the MHRA - His former employees were GlaxoSmithKline

Dr Ian Hudson is Head of Licensing at the MHRA - His former employees were GlaxoSmithKline

You don't have to be Einstein to work out what's going on here folks.

Fid 


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"Five thousand dollars isn't going to change anyone's life," Seroquel Lawsuit Blogger

A few days ago I reported on the anonymous Seroquel Lawsuit blogger and his publishing of a settlement package on his blog that has got law firms and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca running around in circles and wondering how to handle this spanner in their works.

The news is growing and spreading across the Internet pretty fast, Reuters have now posted twice about the anonymous blogger. Reuters latest, Alison Frankel, carries the headline, "Law firms blast disclosure of Seroquel settlement documents" where she interviews the anonymous blogger.

Frankel writes:

I asked the blogger if he was concerned that his posts could derail settlements that many Seroquel plaintiffs want to accept. He said he is not. "Five thousand dollars isn't going to change anyone's life," he told me. "I'm holding a pin, and I'm trying to fend off a herd of charging elephants."

Damn and blast, doncha just love a mental health advocate with balls, humongous balls at that!

The blogger, is pretty much on the ball, his latest offering sees him press the peddle to the floor with a repost of Frankel's article from Reuters, which also includes a cartoon image of an elephant in bed with a mouse!

It would appear that the highly paid law firm, the inbetweeners and AstraZeneca have met their match.

Whoever you are...I salute you.




Fid 


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Seroquel Blogger Told To "Cease and Desist"

Blogging can be a very useful tool to get under the skin of corporate companies that are used to getting their own way. In the past I, myself, have been sent a threatening letter by GlaxoSmithKline lawyers, Addleshaw Goddard, I apparently upset one of GlaxoSmithKline's employees, Head of Psychiatry, Alastair Benbow because of a video I created and posted to YouTube. According to GSK, Benbow no longer works for them.


More recently Leonie Fennell, who writes about Lundbeck, Cipramil [Celexa] and Irish psychiatrists amongst other things, was sent not one but two letters by Brophy Solicitors, an Irish law firm representing Irish psychiatrist Patricia Casey. Casey didn't like what Fennell had wrote about her. Boo hoo.


Now we have an anonymous blogger who writes the Seroquel Lawsuit Blog. Seroquel [Quetiapine], a powerful antipsychotic, is used to treat schizophrenia and/or bipolar disorder, it's also prescribed "off label" for an array of other "mental disorders." It has, in the past, also been used for "sleep disorders".

The blog, it appears, was created for victims of AstraZeneca's Seroquel to have a voice, a place to disseminate information, and to bring about awareness. More recently AstraZeneca have offered an out of court settlement to plaintiffs who claim that they have been left with diabetes and other serious injuries after ingesting Seroquel.

A number of posts appeared throughout the month of June that related to that settlement. At the end of June the anonymous blogger publicly posted the settlement package online. This, it would appear, has set the hounds out from lawyers who represent the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit, which involves over 28,000 claimants and, according to the Seroquel Lawsuit Blog, each claimant has been offered between $11,000 - $25,000. This seems a paltry amount considering the injuries sustained by the claimants.

At this point it may be beneficial to know that when a settlement is reached, the defendant normally admit no liability.

The trouble with litigation is that it is purely about money. The law firm representing the plaintiffs try and get the best deal possible without actually entering a Courtroom. In this instance the law firm have determined that a figure between $11,000 - $25,000 is suitable compensation for those harmed by Seroquel... or rather those who are part of the group action where no liability is being admitted. The anonymous blogger claims that 40% will be deducted from each amount, which makes the final settlement quite paltry.

The blog is certainly having an impact. On Aug 17 2011 Reuters, the news agency directed readers to the letter Weitz & Luxenberg sent to its Seroquel clients, announcing the group settlement and explaining the allocation process. The letter was uploaded by the anonymous Seroquel Lawsuit blogger.

The whole blog is a minefield of information, much of which has prompted attorney's to contact a litigant in the lawsuit whom they believe to be the source of information behind the blog.

It's interesting to see victims of pharmaceutical products taking a stance like this and shows just how powerful a tool the Internet can be for the small man. Future litigation cases may take into account recent events and pharmaceutical companies, like AstraZeneca, may have to just stop and think before they make such degrading offers to victims harmed by their products.

The Seroquel Lawsuit Blog can be read HERE

The author can be contacted at seroquellawsuitblog@gmail.com