Quackery by Pharmaceutical companies

 In Pakistan , Pharmaceutical companies are bribing doctors to write their pharmaceutical product in the prescription of patient for  their high sales . And this has led to many deaths known by the name of  " Prescription errors  "  about 80000 people in 2023 year died due to this as reported in following blog by  Geo news :-

https://www.geo.tv/latest/511871-over-80000-prescription-errors-reported-in-pakistan-during-last-year

Now , We understand that why pharmaceutical companies and doctors are doing this ? For money , most obviously and more commonly government doctors are the part of this quack . Now let us understand through an example that how do they do this 

Example :-

     So lets assume that there is a drug for abdominal pain that is about 50Rs per strip . And then there is another drug which is about  350rs per strip and both have same properties to cure the pain . But the 350rs medicine is getting more sold than the 50 ones . It is because the 350rs medication owner is spending money on its medical reps to meet doctors and convince them to write their medication in the prescription for more sells because that is what the role of pharmaceutical company is to sell like crazy than any of their competitor in the market . And in this craziness they have indulge the doctors whome primary responsibility is to ensure the patient health but now it has deviated to money pool  .

Insys Therapeutics:-

Insys Therapeutics was a pharmaceutical company known primarily for its production of Subsys, a sublingual spray form of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.

The company was found to have bribed doctors to prescribe Subsys off-label, meaning for conditions other than those approved by the FDA. This led to widespread misuse of the drug and contributed to the opioid crisis in the United States.

Following the legal actions and the subsequent fallout, Insys filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2019. The company agreed to pay $225 million to settle federal criminal and civil investigations​

Some other Incidents are given below :-

Novartis and the Kickback Scheme :-

Company provided financial incentives to physicians to induce them to prescribe Novartis drugs, including through lavish dinners, speaking fees, and other perks.

In 2020, Novartis agreed to pay over $729 million to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act by using these kickbacks to improperly influence prescription practices​.

Abbott Laboratories and the Depakote Scandal:-

Abbott Laboratories was found to have marketed the anti-seizure drug Depakote for uses not approved by the FDA, including for controlling agitation and aggression in elderly dementia patients and for schizophrenia.

In 2012, Abbott agreed to pay $1.5 billion to resolve criminal and civil investigations into its promotion of Depakote​

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and the Avandia Settlement:-

GlaxoSmithKline faced allegations of improper marketing and failure to report safety data regarding its diabetes drug Avandia. The company was accused of promoting Avandia for off-label uses and withholding information about its potential cardiovascular risks.

In 2012, GSK agreed to pay $3 billion to settle civil and criminal charges, marking one of the largest healthcare fraud settlements in U.S. history​