Bush's plan to dose Americans with expensive antipsychotics

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" Sepp (Josef) Hasslberger " <sepp wrote:Sat, 19 Jun 2004

22:05:05 +0200

" Sepp (Josef) Hasslberger "

Bush's plan to dose Americans with expensive antipsychotics

CC: Ivan Ingrilli ,

Robin Good

 

Weblogs (boingboing.net is a very well read one of these) are catching on with

the pharma shenanigans.

 

 

Kind regards

Sepp

 

 

Bush's plan to dose Americans with expensive antipsychotics

President Bush's family has made a lot of money from drug companies and still

has very close ties to the pharmaceutical industry. (Bush Sr was on Eli Lilly's

board of directors and Bush Jr appointed Lilly's CEO to a senior position on the

Homeland Security Council.)

 

 

According to this British Medical Journal article, " Lilly made $1.6m in

political contributions in 2000-82% of which went to Bush and the Republican

Party. "

 

So it's not surprising that the President announced a plan to screen the entire

US population for mental illness and pump lots and lots of people full of

expensive Eli Lilly drugs....

 

 

article at:

http://www.boingboing.net/2004/06/18/bushs_plan_to_dose_a.html

 

Friday, June 18, 2004Bush's plan to dose Americans with expensive antipsychotics

President Bush's family has made a lot of money from drug companies and still

has very close ties to the pharmaceutical industry. (Bush Sr was on Eli Lilly's

board of directors and Bush Jr appointed Lilly's CEO to a senior position on the

Homeland Security Council.)

 

According to this British Medical Journal article, " Lilly made $1.6m in

political contributions in 2000—82% of which went to Bush and the Republican

Party. "

 

So it's not surprising that the President announced a plan to screen the entire

US population for mental illness and pump lots and lots of people full of

expensive Eli Lilly drugs. Bush's commission has recommended that the federal

government adopt a model based on the Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP)

a medication treatment plan that recommends Zyprexa as a first line

antipsychotic drug for patients.

 

Bush was governor of Texas when the plan was adopted, and Zyprexa coincidentally

happens to be made Eli Lilly. It's the drug company's top seller, grossing $4.28

billion dollars last year. According to the article, " A 2003 New York Times

article by Gardiner Harris reported that 70% of olanzapine sales are paid for by

government agencies, such as Medicare and Medicaid. " But the Texas project,

which promotes the use of newer, more expensive antidepressants and

antipsychotic drugs, sparked off controversy when Allen Jones, an employee of

the Pennsylvania Office of the Inspector

 

General, revealed that key officials with influence over the medication plan in

his state received money and perks from drug companies with a stake in the

medication algorithm (15 May, p1153). He was sacked this week for speaking to

the BMJ and the New York Times.

 

Mr Jones told the BMJ that the same " political/pharmaceutical alliance " that

generated the Texas project was behind the recommendations of the New Freedom

Commission, which, according to his whistleblower report, were " poised to

consolidate the TMAP effort into a comprehensive national policy to treat mental

illness with expensive, patented medications of questionable benefit and deadly

side effects, and to force private insurers to pick up more of the tab. "

 

Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:59:20 AM permanent link to this entry | New!

Other blogs commenting on this post

Article Here.

 

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/328/7454/1458

 

BMJ 2004;328:1458 (19 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7454.1458

 

 

Bush plans to screen whole US population for mental illness Jeanne Lenzer

New York

 

A sweeping mental health initiative will be unveiled by President George W Bush

in July. The plan promises to integrate mentally ill patients fully into the

community by providing " services in the community, rather than institutions, "

according to a March 2004 progress report entitled New Freedom Initiative

(www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/newfreedom/toc-2004.html). While some praise the

plan's goals, others say it protects the profits of drug companies at the

expense of the public.

 

Bush established the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health in April 2002 to

conduct a " comprehensive study of the United States mental health service

delivery system. " The commission issued its recommendations in July 2003. Bush

instructed more than 25 federal agencies to develop an implementation plan based

on those recommendations.

 

The president's commission found that " despite their prevalence, mental

disorders often go undiagnosed " and recommended comprehensive mental health

screening for " consumers of all ages, " including preschool children. According

to the commission, " Each year, young children are expelled from preschools and

childcare facilities for severely disruptive behaviours and emotional

disorders. " Schools, wrote the commission, are in a " key position " to screen the

52 million students and 6 million adults who work at the schools.

 

The commission also recommended " Linkage [of screening] with treatment and

supports " including " state-of-the-art treatments " using " specific medications

for specific conditions. " The commission commended the Texas Medication

Algorithm Project (TMAP) as a " model " medication treatment plan that

" illustrates an evidence-based practice that results in better consumer

outcomes. "

 

Dr Darrel Regier, director of research at the American Psychiatric Association

(APA), lauded the president's initiative and the Texas project model saying,

" What's nice about TMAP is that this is a logical plan based on efficacy data

from clinical trials. "

 

He said the association has called for increased funding for implementation of

the overall plan.

 

But the Texas project, which promotes the use of newer, more expensive

antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs, sparked off controversy when Allen

Jones, an employee of the Pennsylvania Office of the Inspector General, revealed

that key officials with influence over the medication plan in his state received

money and perks from drug companies with a stake in the medication algorithm (15

May, p1153). He was sacked this week for speaking to the BMJ and the New York

Times.

 

The Texas project started in 1995 as an alliance of individuals from the

pharmaceutical industry, the University of Texas, and the mental health and

corrections systems of Texas. The project was funded by a Robert Wood Johnson

grant—and by several drug companies.

 

Mr Jones told the BMJ that the same " political/pharmaceutical alliance " that

generated the Texas project was behind the recommendations of the New Freedom

Commission, which, according to his whistleblower report, were " poised to

consolidate the TMAP effort into a comprehensive national policy to treat mental

illness with expensive, patented medications of questionable benefit and deadly

side effects, and to force private insurers to pick up more of the tab "

(http://psychrights.org/Drugs/AllenJonesTMAPJanuary20.pdf).

 

Larry D Sasich, research associate with Public Citizen in Washington, DC, told

the BMJ that studies in both the United States and Great Britain suggest that

" using the older drugs first makes sense. There's nothing in the labeling of the

newer atypical antipsychotic drugs that suggests they are superior in efficacy

to haloperidol [an older " typical " antipsychotic]. There has to be an enormous

amount of unnecessary expenditures for the newer drugs. "

 

 

 

 

Olanzapine (trade name Zyprexa), one of the atypical antipsychotic drugs

recommended as a first line drug in the Texas algorithm, grossed $4.28bn

(£2.35bn; 3.56bn) worldwide in 2003 and is Eli Lilly's top selling drug. A 2003

New York Times article by Gardiner Harris reported that 70% of olanzapine sales

are paid for by government agencies, such as Medicare and Medicaid.

 

Eli Lilly, manufacturer of olanzapine, has multiple ties to the Bush

administration. George Bush Sr was a member of Lilly's board of directors and

Bush Jr appointed Lilly's chief executive officer, Sidney Taurel, to a seat on

the Homeland Security Council. Lilly made $1.6m in political contributions in

2000—82% of which went to Bush and the Republican Party.

 

Jones points out that the companies that helped to start up the Texas project

have been, and still are, big contributors to the election funds of George W

Bush. In addition, some members of the New Freedom Commission have served on

advisory boards for these same companies, while others have direct ties to the

 

Texas Medication Algorithm Project.

Bush was the governor of Texas during the development of the Texas project, and,

during his 2000 presidential campaign, he boasted of his support for the project

and the fact that the legislation he passed expanded Medicaid coverage of

psychotropic drugs.

 

Bush is the clear front runner when it comes to drug company contributions.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), manufacturers of drugs

and health products have contributed $764 274 to the 2004 Bush campaign through

their political action committees and employees—far outstripping the $149 400

given to his chief rival, John Kerry, by 26 April.

 

Drug companies have fared exceedingly well under the Bush administration,

according to the centre's spokesperson, Steven Weiss.

 

The commission's recommendation for increased screening has also been

questioned. Robert Whitaker, journalist and author of Mad in America, says that

while increased screening " may seem defensible, " it could also be seen as

" fishing for customers, " and that exorbitant spending on new drugs " robs from

other forms of care such as job training and shelter programmes. "

 

But Dr Graham Emslie, who helped develop the Texas project, defends screening:

" There are good data showing that if you identify kids at an earlier age who are

aggressive, you can intervene... and change their trajectory. "

 

--

 

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