Another "me too"- Pristiq

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Well, it's a metabolite of venlafaxine. Supposedly less hepatic interactions and metabolism. The Wyeth site is still scant, and they offer clinical trial results now on their website. Could be useful practically for the above reason and lack of a titration curve.
 
🙄 I'd be so much more willing to buy the "drugs-are-expensive-because-it-costs-so-much-to-develop-and-bring-them-to-market" arguement if they actually were making something NEW.
 
Right, but think about the investment loss from a non-approved drug. Since we're talking Wyeth, I'll use the example of the recently deceased Bifeprunox. They're talking an estimated 11 billion projected profit loss, and over one billion dollars lost in R&D from that failed collaboration with Solvay.

So yeah, new drugs are expensive.

Certainly not a perfect system, but I'll take the private sector over gov't produced products any day of the week.
 
OldPsychDoc said:
🙄 I'd be so much more willing to buy the "drugs-are-expensive-because-it-costs-so-much-to-develop-and-bring-them-to-market" arguement if they actually were making something NEW.
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Aye man...

I am developing a theory that in order for us to not be screwed as human beings, we all need to get stocks in all the major companies we buy/have products from. Essentially, short circuiting the money diversion.
 
Anasazi23 said:
Right, but think about the investment loss from a non-approved drug. Since we're talking Wyeth, I'll use the example of the recently deceased Bifeprunox. They're talking an estimated 11 billion projected profit loss, and over one billion dollars lost in R&D from that failed collaboration with Solvay.

So yeah, new drugs are expensive.

Certainly not a perfect system, but I'll take the private sector over gov't produced products any day of the week.
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:idea: So I can claim MY services are expensive because of the "estimated profit loss" I took when I chose to not go into neurosurgery! :laugh:
 
OldPsychDoc said:
:idea: So I can claim MY services are expensive because of the "estimated profit loss" I took when I chose to not go into neurosurgery! :laugh:
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Hey, having just completed my taxes, I'll be sure to tell you that I won't stop you.

OPD - the brand, should be able to charge a high fee from presumed development of your skill set i.e. medical school. 🙂

I'm still considering that whole "write off your Rolex if it has a second hand" thing since we take BPs and pulses. It's very tempting.
 
It's interesting how political ideaology colors discussions like the one above here. I consider myself an independent and find myself convinced with both sides of the arguement.

I think bottomline of pharm companies is important as they do come up with "something new" quite often. Remember, this is hard-core business and these marketing tactics are to be expected. All this has been going on in other fields of medicine for a long time. Psychiatry has been relatively immune from this practice until now when there is a flood of various drugs. I am sure we will get used to it pretty soon as well.

On the other hand, it is important that our patients have access to inexpensive treatment choices. The duty lies more with the physician here to prescribe the right kind of medication. If the old one will work well, it should be the treatment of choice. If the newer, more expensive drug offers benefits, even though limited, it should be tried for the right kind of patient. I think most residnecy programs do a good job of teaching this fundamental principle. What happens thereafter is up to the individual physicians.
 
Anasazi23 said:
Believe me, that's not a safe bet either...

http://moneycentral.msn.com/investo...eRangeForm=1&CP=0&PT=6&CE=0&ComparisonsForm=1
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I was thinking the same thing. If you look the major pharmaceutical stocks, they are at the same price they were 5 or 10 years ago in some cases.

Drug pricing and R&D allocation is a complex issue obviously. Pharma companies clearly try to inch out every $ they can from an existing franchise. But the successful franchises are needed to fund future developments, especially when factoring in the high failure rate of compounds from preclinical to Phase III.

I think it's our job as physicians to maintain objectivity and prescribe or not prescribe a drug based on the available data. If you don't think Effexor the sequel (or Effexor III if you count the Effexor IR to XR extension strategy) is a better drug than its predecessors, then don't prescribe it.

That said, I am highly skeptical this particular drug will be a significant advance in depression. But I am willing to give it a fighting chance until I see the data.
 
RaistlinMajere said:
I was thinking the same thing. If you look the major pharmaceutical stocks, they are at the same price they were 5 or 10 years ago in some cases.

Drug pricing and R&D allocation is a complex issue obviously. Pharma companies clearly try to inch out every $ they can from an existing franchise. But the successful franchises are needed to fund future developments, especially when factoring in the high failure rate of compounds from preclinical to Phase III.

I think it's our job as physicians to maintain objectivity and prescribe or not prescribe a drug based on the available data. If you don't think Effexor the sequel (or Effexor III if you count the Effexor IR to XR extension strategy) is a better drug than its predecessors, then don't prescribe it.

That said, I am highly skeptical this particular drug will be a significant advance in depression. But I am willing to give it a fighting chance until I see the data.
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You might want to consider trying it if your signature is accurate. Especially that middle part.

Good luck. :luck:
 
Anasazi23 said:
You might want to consider trying it if your signature is accurate. Especially that middle part.

Good luck. :luck:
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Unfortunately it is accurate. The good news is that I'm done w/ 8 weeks straight of ward medicine and am now on outpatient. It's all downhill from here. Of course, I have now just jinxed myself!
 
OB/GYN = :barf::d

That was the only med school rotation where I pulled a little bit of a fast one in order to get down to Bike Week in Daytona, and out of the DR.
 
I'd be interested in this new med if
1) it had lower incidence of increasing blood pressure
2) it had a longer half life than Effexor--several of my patients on Effexor had suffered from discontinuation syndrome & had to be switched to Effexor XR to wean them off of it--even then I had problems.

'd be so much more willing to buy the "drugs-are-expensive-because-it-costs-so-much-to-develop-and-bring-them-to-market" arguement if they actually were making something NEW.
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Several of the state of the art meds that our patients use are the result of the system that makes them expensive.

We in the US are pretty much paying for the pharmaceutical benefits enjoyed by the entire world since we are a major piece in their profit margins. Other countries use government mandates to make pharm companies sell them meds at generic prices.

This makes me wonder, would pharmaceutical advancements decline if meds were made cheaper?

In any case I am still shocked by the number of doctors who do not assist in finding cost effective solutions for their patients. I rarely see anyone other than myself & the residents I am training prescribe the $4 generics available such as Citalopram which is a perfectly good SSRI and has just as much efficacy as any other SSRI. Just the other day a lab tech I work with on Fluoxetine told me she could barely afford it and I told her it was available for $4 and had been for some time. She reacted in anger "why didn't my doctor tell me this?" She's a single mother of 2, and forced to work the night shift to make ends meet.
 
whopper said:
...
In any case I am still shocked by the number of doctors who do not assist in finding cost effective solutions for their patients. I rarely see anyone other than myself & the residents I am training prescribe the $4 generics available such as Citalopram which is a perfectly good SSRI and has just as much efficacy as any other SSRI. Just the other day a lab tech I work with on Fluoxetine told me she could barely afford it and I told her it was available for $4 and had been for some time. She reacted in anger "why didn't my doctor tell me this?" She's a single mother of 2, and forced to work the night shift to make ends meet.
Click to expand...

:clap:

I've had NUMEROUS similar experiences.
 
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