In my last post I teased that I would write about fake science. I’ll try to make it interesting. The internet allows everyone to do research about symptoms and treatments for any condition. If not for need for prescriptions, people could act as their own doctors. But a huge dose Read more…
Originally Posted 10/27/2013 I usually have my wife/business partner review my posts and provide her opinion whether my arguments are sound. For the record, she tells me that this post is technical and boring. I disagree, but we aren’t planning to separate over the issue. A valid criticism, I think, Read more…
Originally Posted 2/23/2013 I’ve written in detail about the bold move by Reckitt-Benckiser, maker of Suboxone, that few people outside the company saw coming. In brief, the company has been cruising across the Atlantic for the past ten years, fueled by stellar growth of its flagship medication, even as the expiration of Read more…
This is a repost of an article from 10/2/2012 I’m going to start by paraphrasing John Le Carre’s comments in his book The Constant Gardener: “Nobody in the letter below is based upon an actual person or outfit in the real world. But I can tell you this; as my knowledge of the pharmaceutical Read more…
Another question from a reader: The current blog brings up the notion of long term use of Bupe or short term detox. You say you are a fan of long term use, and that is clearly a good thing when the patient is one headed back to a drug culture Read more…
I hope that people recognize the tongue-in-cheek nature of the title. After working as a physician in various roles over a period of 20 years, I can state with absolute confidence that the answer to the question is ‘yes’. I’ve written numerous times about the writer/activist for the Salem-News.com web Read more…
I’ve received several complaints from patients and readers about one of the current buprenorphine formulations. The primary complaint is that the tablet is ‘not ‘working as well as the other formulations;’ that it seems to wear off earlier, or that people feel compelled to take more than what is prescribed. Read more…
Today I met with representatives from Alkermes who were promoting Vivitrol, a long-acting mu opioid antagonist that is indicated for treatment of alcoholism and opioid dependence. I admit to some pre-existing bias against the medication. I’m not certain, to be honest, whether that bias was based upon sound clinical reasoning, Read more…
I owe it to readers to make it clear that I do not endorse any product sold for the expressed purpose of reducing opioid withdrawal. I have PPC ads on the site, but I have no control over the ads that run in them. I am not saying that the Read more…
As I give my last post more thought…. I wonder if there is ANY clinical difference between $uboxone at $7 per dose, vs. generic buprenorphine at $2.33 per dose? Researchers out there– can anyone send me a reference? A review of the science shows that Suboxone is clinically identical to Read more…
I have shared my thoughts about ‘Suboxone Film,’ a product that serves only one purpose: to block generic competition from entering the Suboxone market. Below I’ve copied a Bloomberg article that discusses the current nature of the buprenorphine/naloxone business, and the efforts by RB to prevent market penetration by generics– Read more…
I just wrote a note to a friend who works in the molecular sciences– she has been studying opioid receptors since the early 1980’s, when things were just getting started on a molecular level. I’m keeping her name to myself, but I’ll share a few thoughts about what is needed to Read more…