Guest guest Posted June 2, 2003 Report Share Posted June 2, 2003 Mon, 2 Jun 2003 14:36:18 -0500 HSI - Jenny Thompson Working Dark Wonders Working Dark Wonders Health Sciences Institute e-Alert June 2, 2003 ************************************************************** Dear Reader, A woman I know named Betty has been battling ovarian cancer for almost two years. Recently, a new round of chemotherapy really hit her hard so her doctor suggested they try Procrit to take the edge off the chemo side effects. I'm sure you've probably seen the many Procrit commercials that have been running on national television for a few months now. The ads feature people who are fatigued because of chemo related anemia, but Procrit can also be prescribed for other health problems that cause anemia, such as kidney disease, HIV treatments, and recovery from surgery. So I wasn't surprised when Betty told me she was going to start taking Procrit. But I was flabbergasted when she told me that each weekly dose will cost $1,000! Outrageous? In my opinion, yes. But in a free market society, Ortho Biotech (the maker of Procrit) has the right to place any price tag it likes on its product. But Procrit isn't the subject of today's e-Alert. It just so happens that Betty told me about her new Procrit regimen on almost the same day that I read about a pharmaceutical company atrocity that I believe has a connection to the high price of patent drugs. And calling it an " atrocity " is putting it mildly. ----------------------------- A bottom line plan ----------------------------- A recent investigative report conducted by the New York Times details one of the most despicable drug company maneuvers that I've ever heard. Cutter Biological (a division of the German pharmaceutical giant Bayer) manufactures a blood-clotting agent for hemophiliacs. The product, called Factor VIII, contains human blood plasma. In the early 80s, AIDS presented a grave problem when it became apparent that Factor VIII and similar products made by other drug companies could easily spread the disease. A process was quickly developed that removed the threat of contaminating the drug with AIDS. But thousands of units of the unimproved and unsafe product had already been manufactured. Without question, those unsafe units had to be dumped, right? A drug company is dedicated to providing products that improve their customers' health, right? No one with good conscience could possibly allow those contaminated units to be sold, right? And you know exactly where I'm going with this, right? Cutter's solution: Sell the improved Factor VIII in America, and sell the unsafe product in Asia and South America. And not only did they sell the unsafe Factor VIII after they knew it would put hemophiliac patients in jeopardy, they continued to manufacture the contaminated product for another five months! ----------------------------- Quickly...quietly ----------------------------- Because of poor record keeping in the early years of the AIDS epidemic, it's impossible to know exactly how many hemophiliac patients contacted AIDS because of Cutter's bottom line business decision. What IS known is that a number of patients were infected and died while Cutter maintained its profit margin. A doctor in Taiwan reported that in one hemophiliac clinic alone, 44 patients developed AIDS. To date, 23 of them have died, including a 2-year-old. Cutter has never admitted any wrongdoing in this matter, and Bayer has defended its subsidiary, stating that the company behaved " responsibly, ethically, and humanely. " (So now we know what passes for responsible, ethical, and humane in the drug industry!) But the FDA didn't agree. When FDA officials got wind of the matter in 1985, they summoned representatives of Cutter and the other companies that manufactured the product to explain that it was not acceptable to ship their contaminated medication overseas. One FDA administrator then asked that the problem be settled " quickly and quietly, " adding that there was no reason to alert the public, the medical community, or Congress. Ouch! That showed them! A gentle slap on the wrist for spreading a lethal disease. ----------------------------- If the lawsuit fits... ----------------------------- It's estimated that Cutter made more than $4 million dollars after allowing the sale of medication they knew was unsafe. So far, Bayer and the three other companies that sold this contaminated product have paid out almost $600 million to settle lawsuits. And what does that have to do with the price of Procrit? Well, when drug companies solve problems by throwing money at them, someone has to pay. And that someone is the consumer. Inevitably, whenever drug companies are challenged for charging exorbitant prices for drugs, they point to the high cost of research and development, without acknowledging that their legal departments spend millions (maybe billions) each year to make lawsuits disappear - lawsuits created by inadequately tested drugs or reckless business decisions. So the next time you hear about a drug that costs more per dose than some used cars, you'll know that one of the things that consumers of that drug are almost certainly paying for is the price tag of making ugly situations go away " quickly and quietly. " ----------------------------- The alternative ----------------------------- As a post script, I have some information about a natural way to address anemia that is considerably less expensive than Procrit. In a Members Alert we sent you last spring (April 2002) we told you about a botanical called Energy Kampo. In Japan, this formulation of 10 herbal ingredients is called Juzen- taiho-to and is used for a wide variety of conditions. People struggling with chronic diseases (including rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, atopic dermatitis, and chronic fatigue syndrome) take it to ease fatigue, anemia, circulatory problems, night sweats, and loss of appetite. Cancer patients take it to improve their overall condition and lessen the adverse effects of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. If you're dealing with the effects of cancer treatments, or if you have a close friend or loved one who is coping with cancer related anemia, you can find out more information about Energy Kampo from a New York City nutritional pharmacy called Willner Chemists (willner.com/honso.htm). ************************************************************** ...and another thing Last week I heard from our friend William Campbell Douglass, M.D., the editor of Real Health Newsletter, who had some important insights on an e-Alert I sent you about the ineffectiveness of the pneumonia vaccine ( " Revealing The Matrix " 5/21/03). I told you about the results of a large study that showed how the pneumonia vaccination simply does not reduce the risk of pneumonia in older adults. Nevertheless, the researchers concluded by reasserting the recommendation that all seniors should receive the vaccine because their study indicated that it reduced the risk of contracting the relatively uncommon condition called pneumococcal bacteremia. But even that flimsy basis for promoting the vaccine is insupportable, according to Dr. Douglass who wrote: " Pneumococcal bacteremia is an infection of the blood with the bacterium, pneumococcus. It is not a pneumonia and so not subject to vaccine prevention. It is a secondary infection which may, or may not, have come from the lungs. " In that same e-Alert I also told you how regular cleaning of the teeth and gums by a dentist, coupled with good oral hygiene at home, is associated with a reduced risk of pneumonia. Bacteria that develop along the gum line often accumulate in the throat, so when your immune system is not performing at an optimal level this can create respiratory problems such as pneumonia. Dr. Douglass added this note: " H2O2 solution as a mouth wash twice daily is probably the best and cheap too. " According to several sources I found, a mouth wash of H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) solution is easy to make. Mix one ounce of 35 percent food-grade hydrogen peroxide with 11 ounces of water. For flavoring, a few drops of liquid chlorophyll can be added. But while you're mixing, care should be taken to avoid undiluted hydrogen peroxide coming into contact with the skin. My thanks to Dr. Douglass for his dental hygiene recommendation and for further emphasizing the apparent uselessness of the pneumonia vaccine. To Your Good Health, Jenny Thompson Health Sciences Institute ************************************************************** Sources: " 2 Paths of Bayer Drug in 80's: Riskier Type Went Overseas " Walt Bogdanich and Eric Koli, The New York Times, 5/22/03, nytimes.com Copyright ©1997-2003 by www.hsibaltimore.com, L.L.C. 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