Here is the link to movie if you want to watch. There is no cost for watching the movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyeC9IiFKpw
Additional questions to ask a neurologist / epileptologist
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyeC9IiFKpw
Abbot Labs
(1) Abbott Laboratories Pays U.S. $5.475 Million to Settle Claims That Company Paid Kickbacks to Physicians - Abbott knowingly paid prominent physicians for teaching assignments, speaking engagements and conferences with the expectation that these physicians would arrange for the hospitals with which they were affiliated to purchase Abbott.
Department of Justice Press Release - http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/abbott-laboratories-pays-us-5475-million-settle-claims-company-paid-kickbacks-physicians
(2) Abbott Labs to Pay $1.5 Billion to Resolve Criminal & Civil Investigations - Global Health Care Company Abbott Laboratories Inc. has pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $1.5 billion to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from the company’s unlawful promotion of the prescription drug Depakote. Abbott has pleaded guilty to misbranding Depakote by promoting the drug to control agitation and aggression in elderly dementia patients and to treat schizophrenia when neither of these uses was FDA approved. In an agreed statement of facts filed in the criminal action, Abbott admits that from 1998 through 2006, the company maintained a specialized sales force trained to market Depakote in nursing homes for the control of agitation and aggression in elderly dementia patients, despite the absence of credible scientific evidence that Depakote was safe and effective for that use. In addition, from 2001 through 2006, the company marketed Depakote in combination with atypical antipsychotic drugs to treat schizophrenia, even after its clinical trials failed to demonstrate that adding Depakote was any more effective than an atypical antipsychotic alone for that use.
Court Case document - http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/legacy/2012/05/07/SettlementAgreement.pdf
Department of Justice Press Release - http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/abbott-labs-pay-15-billion-resolve-criminal-civil-investigations-label-promotion-depakote
Cephalon
Cephalon makes Gabitril and paid $425 million in fines.
Department of Justice Press Release - http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao-edpa/legacy/2011/04/18/cephalon_release.pdf
Elan Corporation PLC
Irish pharmaceutical manufacturer Elan Corporation PLC and its U.S. subsidiary Elan Pharmaceuticals Inc. have agreed to pay more than $203 million to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of the epilepsy drug Zonegran, the Justice Department announced today. In a separate civil settlement, Japanese drug marketer Eisai Inc., which purchased the drug from Elan, will pay $11 million to resolve civil liability for off-label marketing of Zonegran.
The company paid illegal kickbacks to physicians in an effort to persuade them to prescribe Zonegran
Department of Justice Press Release - http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/pharmaceutical-companies-pay-2145-million-resolve-allegations-label-promotion-zonegran
GLAXO
WASHINGTON DC, July 2, 2012 -- Two whistleblowers represented by Phillips & Cohen LLP provided the government with overwhelming evidence that was at the heart of the government's case against GlaxoSmithKline and the record-setting $3 billion settlement announced today. Glaxo engaged in corrupt nationwide schemes to push sales of drugs. Glaxo sponsored dinner programs, lunch programs, spa programs and similar activities to promote the use of drugs. Glaxo paid a speaker to talk to an audience of doctors and paid for the meal or spa treatment for the doctors who attended. Glaxo paid millions of dollars to doctors to speak at and attend meetings, sometimes at lavish resorts.
Court Case complaint document - http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/legacy/2012/07/02/us-complaint.pdf
Department of Justice Press Release - http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/glaxosmithkline-plead-guilty-and-pay-3-billion-resolve-fraud-allegations-and-failure-report
http://www.phillipsandcohen.com/2012/Whistleblowers-played-major-role-in-Glaxo-case-leading-to-Glaxo-s-record-settlement.shtml
Glaxo is accused of using a Shanghai travel agency to funnel at least $489 million in bribes. Glaxo allegedly used the travel agency to hand out inducements by claiming the payments were for travel and meeting expenses
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikakelton/2013/07/29/is-big-pharma-addicted-to-fraud/
Johnson & Johnson
Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical LLC, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston to one count of misdemeanor violation of the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act for illegally promoting its epilepsy drug Topamax.
https://www.fbi.gov/boston/press-releases/2010/bs052110.htm
Novartis
Novartis makes Trileptal.
Court case document - http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao-edpa/legacy/2011/05/05/novartis_information.pdf
UCB SA
The U.S. subsidiary of Belgian pharmaceutical manufacturer UCB S.A. pleaded guilty today to the off-label promotion of its epilepsy drug Keppra and will pay more than $34 million to resolve criminal and civil liability
FBI Press Release - https://www.fbi.gov/washingtondc/press-releases/2011/u.s.-subsidiary-of-belgian-pharmaceutical-manufacturer-pleads-guilty-to-off-label-promotion-company-to-pay-more-than-34-million
(1) Abbott Laboratories Pays U.S. $5.475 Million to Settle Claims That Company Paid Kickbacks to Physicians - Abbott knowingly paid prominent physicians for teaching assignments, speaking engagements and conferences with the expectation that these physicians would arrange for the hospitals with which they were affiliated to purchase Abbott.
Department of Justice Press Release - http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/abbott-laboratories-pays-us-5475-million-settle-claims-company-paid-kickbacks-physicians
(2) Abbott Labs to Pay $1.5 Billion to Resolve Criminal & Civil Investigations - Global Health Care Company Abbott Laboratories Inc. has pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $1.5 billion to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from the company’s unlawful promotion of the prescription drug Depakote. Abbott has pleaded guilty to misbranding Depakote by promoting the drug to control agitation and aggression in elderly dementia patients and to treat schizophrenia when neither of these uses was FDA approved. In an agreed statement of facts filed in the criminal action, Abbott admits that from 1998 through 2006, the company maintained a specialized sales force trained to market Depakote in nursing homes for the control of agitation and aggression in elderly dementia patients, despite the absence of credible scientific evidence that Depakote was safe and effective for that use. In addition, from 2001 through 2006, the company marketed Depakote in combination with atypical antipsychotic drugs to treat schizophrenia, even after its clinical trials failed to demonstrate that adding Depakote was any more effective than an atypical antipsychotic alone for that use.
Court Case document - http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/legacy/2012/05/07/SettlementAgreement.pdf
Department of Justice Press Release - http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/abbott-labs-pay-15-billion-resolve-criminal-civil-investigations-label-promotion-depakote
Cephalon
Cephalon makes Gabitril and paid $425 million in fines.
Department of Justice Press Release - http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao-edpa/legacy/2011/04/18/cephalon_release.pdf
Elan Corporation PLC
Irish pharmaceutical manufacturer Elan Corporation PLC and its U.S. subsidiary Elan Pharmaceuticals Inc. have agreed to pay more than $203 million to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of the epilepsy drug Zonegran, the Justice Department announced today. In a separate civil settlement, Japanese drug marketer Eisai Inc., which purchased the drug from Elan, will pay $11 million to resolve civil liability for off-label marketing of Zonegran.
The company paid illegal kickbacks to physicians in an effort to persuade them to prescribe Zonegran
Department of Justice Press Release - http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/pharmaceutical-companies-pay-2145-million-resolve-allegations-label-promotion-zonegran
GLAXO
WASHINGTON DC, July 2, 2012 -- Two whistleblowers represented by Phillips & Cohen LLP provided the government with overwhelming evidence that was at the heart of the government's case against GlaxoSmithKline and the record-setting $3 billion settlement announced today. Glaxo engaged in corrupt nationwide schemes to push sales of drugs. Glaxo sponsored dinner programs, lunch programs, spa programs and similar activities to promote the use of drugs. Glaxo paid a speaker to talk to an audience of doctors and paid for the meal or spa treatment for the doctors who attended. Glaxo paid millions of dollars to doctors to speak at and attend meetings, sometimes at lavish resorts.
Court Case complaint document - http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/legacy/2012/07/02/us-complaint.pdf
Department of Justice Press Release - http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/glaxosmithkline-plead-guilty-and-pay-3-billion-resolve-fraud-allegations-and-failure-report
http://www.phillipsandcohen.com/2012/Whistleblowers-played-major-role-in-Glaxo-case-leading-to-Glaxo-s-record-settlement.shtml
Glaxo is accused of using a Shanghai travel agency to funnel at least $489 million in bribes. Glaxo allegedly used the travel agency to hand out inducements by claiming the payments were for travel and meeting expenses
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikakelton/2013/07/29/is-big-pharma-addicted-to-fraud/
Johnson & Johnson
Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical LLC, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston to one count of misdemeanor violation of the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act for illegally promoting its epilepsy drug Topamax.
https://www.fbi.gov/boston/press-releases/2010/bs052110.htm
Novartis
Novartis makes Trileptal.
Court case document - http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao-edpa/legacy/2011/05/05/novartis_information.pdf
UCB SA
The U.S. subsidiary of Belgian pharmaceutical manufacturer UCB S.A. pleaded guilty today to the off-label promotion of its epilepsy drug Keppra and will pay more than $34 million to resolve criminal and civil liability
FBI Press Release - https://www.fbi.gov/washingtondc/press-releases/2011/u.s.-subsidiary-of-belgian-pharmaceutical-manufacturer-pleads-guilty-to-off-label-promotion-company-to-pay-more-than-34-million
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I don't quite understand what all these links have to do with epilepsy or even doctors who deal with epilepsy? That's what this website is about, EPILEPSY right?
Maybe if this websites dealt with those matters then it might make more sense to me.
Maybe if this websites dealt with those matters then it might make more sense to me.
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Please read the post carefully. These court cases are connected with the payments made to doctors by pharma companies making various anti-epileptic drugs.
Did your doctor indulge in unethical behavior and receive any payment? You also take two drugs from these fined pharma companies - Keppra and Depakote
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I have resisted commenting on this thread so far, but felt the need to respond to this list of court cases.
In every one of the cases you cite above in which an AED is involved, what the drug manufacturer is being fined for is illegally promoting an epilepsy drug for off-label uses - i.e. for promoting an epilepsy drug for uses other than seizures. For instance, in the case of trileptal, Novartis was having their salesmen visit psychiatrists and promoting the use of the drug for bi-polar disorder. Since the FDA has not approved Trileptal for bi-polar disorder, the drug cannot be marketed to doctors for that use.
None of these cases mean that the drugs are unsafe in people with epilepsy, that they don't work for epilepsy, that doctors are "over-prescribing" these drugs or that they are getting kickbacks. I do not think that it is at all helpful to imply that these cases have anything to do with doctor's prescribing these drugs for epilepsy - they don't! As someone said above, in my experience my daughter's neurologist (and doctors in general) much prefers to prescribe generic drugs, in which case the drug manufacturers are getting nothing. If the doctors were as in the pocket of the drug manufacturers as you are suggesting, I would expect that they would be telling us that we need the brand-name Keppra (for instance) because it is more effective than the generic - and that just doesn't happen (in fact, for people who do need the brand name for certain reasons it can be very hard to get it!).
Unethical behavior in doctors does happen. But MOST doctors are not unethical. And for heaven's sake, prescribing an effective medication for a devastating illness (i.e. prescribing Keppra for epilepsy - and probably the generic version) does not make them unethical, or drug pushers or any of the other things you have suggested! It does not mean that they want a "customer for life"! On the contrary, in my experience neurologists are thrilled when people become seizure-free, can come off of meds and no longer need them. It really makes me angry to see you bash doctors over and over again. I am moved to tears when I think about how wonderful and caring my daughter's doctors have been with her and with us, and feel I blessed to have them in our life.
I am thrilled to death that you have found a nutritional treatment that is working for your son, and I hope that that continues. While my daughter has never gone into status, I have watched her have numerous grand mal seizures (and countless simple partials) and it is a scary and horrifying experience. I never want her to go through that again.
But just because it is working for you does not mean that you have found the One True Answer to everyone's epilepsy and seizures. And just because our family has made different medical choices than yours does not mean that I am deluded, uneducated or being taken advantage of. What it means is that my daughter's epilepsy is different than your son's, our family is different and what works for us is different.
In every one of the cases you cite above in which an AED is involved, what the drug manufacturer is being fined for is illegally promoting an epilepsy drug for off-label uses - i.e. for promoting an epilepsy drug for uses other than seizures. For instance, in the case of trileptal, Novartis was having their salesmen visit psychiatrists and promoting the use of the drug for bi-polar disorder. Since the FDA has not approved Trileptal for bi-polar disorder, the drug cannot be marketed to doctors for that use.
None of these cases mean that the drugs are unsafe in people with epilepsy, that they don't work for epilepsy, that doctors are "over-prescribing" these drugs or that they are getting kickbacks. I do not think that it is at all helpful to imply that these cases have anything to do with doctor's prescribing these drugs for epilepsy - they don't! As someone said above, in my experience my daughter's neurologist (and doctors in general) much prefers to prescribe generic drugs, in which case the drug manufacturers are getting nothing. If the doctors were as in the pocket of the drug manufacturers as you are suggesting, I would expect that they would be telling us that we need the brand-name Keppra (for instance) because it is more effective than the generic - and that just doesn't happen (in fact, for people who do need the brand name for certain reasons it can be very hard to get it!).
Unethical behavior in doctors does happen. But MOST doctors are not unethical. And for heaven's sake, prescribing an effective medication for a devastating illness (i.e. prescribing Keppra for epilepsy - and probably the generic version) does not make them unethical, or drug pushers or any of the other things you have suggested! It does not mean that they want a "customer for life"! On the contrary, in my experience neurologists are thrilled when people become seizure-free, can come off of meds and no longer need them. It really makes me angry to see you bash doctors over and over again. I am moved to tears when I think about how wonderful and caring my daughter's doctors have been with her and with us, and feel I blessed to have them in our life.
I am thrilled to death that you have found a nutritional treatment that is working for your son, and I hope that that continues. While my daughter has never gone into status, I have watched her have numerous grand mal seizures (and countless simple partials) and it is a scary and horrifying experience. I never want her to go through that again.
But just because it is working for you does not mean that you have found the One True Answer to everyone's epilepsy and seizures. And just because our family has made different medical choices than yours does not mean that I am deluded, uneducated or being taken advantage of. What it means is that my daughter's epilepsy is different than your son's, our family is different and what works for us is different.
Huge amount of money has been paid by pharma companies to doctors and they have been punished in terms of fine by the courts. In some cases, they have even used sex to motivate doctors.
Have you heard a saying "You scratch my back and I will scratch yours"?
Do you want me to provide court cases where FDA folks have received money and other favors from the pharma companies? Does paying money help in getting approval of drugs? Do you want me to provide links where these pharma companies have paid money to researchers for writing a falsified clinical research article?
The entire system is in the pocket of pharma companies.
Have you heard a saying "You scratch my back and I will scratch yours"?
Do you want me to provide court cases where FDA folks have received money and other favors from the pharma companies? Does paying money help in getting approval of drugs? Do you want me to provide links where these pharma companies have paid money to researchers for writing a falsified clinical research article?
The entire system is in the pocket of pharma companies.
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Thread closed. If Bernard wants to open it back up later he can.
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