Will greed doom Big Pharma?

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At this point, one can only hope.

The recent deal announced by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to in effect leave the United States for the purpose of evading corporate taxes calls into question why Congress continues to protect this industry.

Many in Congress, particularly Republicans, have resisted efforts to permit Medicare and Medicaid to negotiate for bulk pricing for drugs Americans need. The system is broken and we’re all paying for it.

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Birth Control Pill Recall

Birth control pill recall could help prevent a surprise pregnancy.

Although it’s not a number 1 selling brand, the Pfizer product in question could lead to unwanted pregnancies by it’s users.

Mechanical and visual inspection failures on the packaging line caused the need for a recall.

Patients with the affected lot numbers should return them to the pharmacy. Lot numbers of the recalled pills are at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm289770.htm.

The problem affects 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and 14 lots of generic Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets. Both products are manufactured by Pfizer and marketed in the U.S. by Akrimax Rx Products under the Akrimax Pharmaceuticals brand.
Pfizer found that some packets of the drugs had too many active tablets, while others had too few. Oral birth control products use a series of 21 hormone tablets and 7 inactive sugar tablets to regulate the menstrual period while providing contraception.
The risk of an accidental pregnancy depends on how many doses a patient misses in the pill cycle, pharmacist Mike Parker said. Patients normally can miss a dose and then catch up the next day, but the risk rises if a woman goes more than a couple of days without the right dose.

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