Comments on: Glaxo Whistle-Blower Lawsuit: Bad Medicine
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- The "60 Minutes" report on CBS about GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and its sale of adulterated drugs, including Avandia and Paxil, is one more reminder why the country is in bad need of a change on how drugs are tested prior to marketing and monitored after reaching the nation's pharmacies. After Eckard reported the multiple problems occurring at the Cidra plant, including contaminated drugs, pills mixed in with other types of medications and improper dosages, GSK willfully let thousands of these drugs enter the market to be consumed by unsuspecting users. Indeed, this went on for many months until Eckard turned everything over to the FDA. This conduct will not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with GSK's track record. GSK knew about studies reporting an increased risk of cardiovascular problems with Avandia a good 3 years before the story broke in 2007. GSK also knew that its irritable bowel drug, Lotronex, could cause ischemic colitis - a potentially fatal condition in which there is inadequate blood flow to the colon - even before it was approved for marketing. Americans are dying unnecessarily because we allow drug companies to do their own premarket studies, rather than an independent and impartial entity such as the National Institutes of Health. If you agree that we are in bad need of a change, I would urge you to go to my website at www.FDAReformPetition.com and sign my petition to Congress. With enough of us acting in concert, we just might make a difference.
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- Some critical comments concerning the amount of money Cheryl Eckard made in her whistleblower case miss at least three important points:
(1) Whistleblower payouts are based on a percentage of what companies have been bilking from the government (and the American public), sometimes in amounts reaching into the tens of billions of dollars, such as in Cheryl Eckard's case. Even a fraction as small as 1% of that income could result in a false claims act award of hundreds of millions of dollars. With so much potential income at stake to entice illegal activity, it takes a lot to deter the urge to do the wrong thing;
(2) Whistleblower laws provide not only protections, but serious compensation to those courageous enough to come forward with evidence of corporate fraud and corruption because it takes guts to take on a multi-billion dollar corporation. Whistleblowers protect consumers, get money back into government coffers and save taxpayers billions of dollars;
(3) When a whistleblower decides to "blow the whistle," he/she has no idea whether he/she will ever see a penny, much less millions or tens of millions of dollars. Whistleblowers usually only become whistleblowers after efforts to correct a problem have failed and, often times, only after they've been fired by the company for complaining. It is thus unfair to assume the motivation behind such lawsuits is simply monetary. - Reply to this comment
- Anybody ever ask why we are on so many medications? I am a nurse and i am appalled when I see patients on 18 different medications. We all want a pill. Why do we have so much chronic disease in our population? We need to look at overuse of antibiotics, chemicals in our foods, chemicals in our environment to find our the cause not just use a pill to treat symptoms. Cancer in 20 year olds? It is not genetic, it is environmental. Most of the research in medicine is done pharma. If they can't make money off the treatment, the study will never be done. How sad...
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- It's great that there are people willing to do what's right. However, I really wish everyone would write to their congressmen to cap the whistleblower law, at say $5 Million. Does anyone really think that Ms. Eckhard wouldn't have taken the same actions if she had "only" received $5 Million?
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- Way to go Cheryl Eckard! I can't believe ANYONE thinks she'd do this for the money. From the beginning of the story, it was clear Glaxo would eventually fire her under the disguise of a job abolishment. FINALLY, a person with INTEGRITY! She informed leadership of her concerns, documented them, and they were ignored. If more people would "do the right thing," maybe our country wouldn't be going down the toilet. And who wants to be associated with a company that flies a shredded up American flag like the one hanging outside the plant that was eventually shut down? What a disgrace! Shame on you, Glaxo!!!
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- This is just what is wrong with our justice system in America. Yes, Glaxo was in the wrong but thankfully no one was injured. But where is the justice in one whistleblower receiving 92 Million dollars not to mention how much her lawyers received. It is completely an OUTRAGEOUS amount. That amount of money would save millions and millions of people in a third world country. So if Ms. Eckard is truly concerned about saving people let us see her donate a lot of her money to charity. Meanwhile something needs to be done about these lawsuits or justice will never be served. It will become only about the money.
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- Mr. Pelley: On Monday (yesterday), I asked numerous people working at our local pharmacy where I buy our medications...I asked them if they saw your 60 minutes report on Sunday..All denied seeing it and all said they did't know anything about it or anything about medications. I would like to see you investigate more manufacturing plants in other countries and what plants are left in the U.S. My meds are made in Pune, India..they are diabetic meds. I am afraid every time I put on of the pills in my mouth that this might be the pill that will not lower by blood sugar but raise it or cause me to have a heart attack. I have no problems with my heart other that I am heartsick about this type of manufacture and the CEO's who work there, defrauding people and our government. Just think about our soldiers who are fighting or come home with serious injuries, how many of them have taken "bad medicine"?
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- Somehow I don't believe Glaxo isn't the only one with quality control issues. I take Premarin (estrogen). 2 years ago I knew there was something wrong my prescription as I had constant hot flashes. I took it back to the pharmacy and asked if there had been a recall or if they could test it to see if what was in the label was what was in the tablet--even though the color and shape were correct. I was told there was no problem with the medicine. The same thing happened with the next bottle. Then I filled the Rx at another pharmacy. My symptoms immediately improved. Should this happen again, I will now contact the FDA. While we would all like smaller, less expensive government, these are the results. Big business just rolls over the consumer. It's all about greed. LB
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- I urge Scott Pelley to do a story on the plants that are spread around the world, especially the country of India, Mexico and China. I feel that I had some bad synthroid medicine last spring and my TSH blood work was extreemly high and I Had never missed a day of taking it. My Doctor order on test on Thurs that was in the the 50's and he called me back to have one done on Saturday because the lab at the hospital thought there machine wasn't working correctly. I called the Rx company which is located close to Chicago and ask them where my meds were manufacture and they told me that was "privilaged information". I bought another bottle of pills that my Doc order and it was several weeks before I felt better. As a retired Nurse this is a front page story and story that should not be lost but talked about everyday. Not only are our meds being manufacture in other countries by other people, they are probably being manufactured in accurately and in very unsafe conditions. This is an accident waiting for a place to happen. One of these days, 100's perhaps thousands of people will die from pills they took that were contaminated. If Mr. Pelly needs someone to assists him in the venture or help any way, please let me know..I have been worried about this for several years...Just think our soldiers who are being hit by bullets may be taking medicine that could kill them instead of save their lives..All, this because the drug companies have outsourced the jobs to other countres. We is the President when you need him! Don't give up on this Mr. Pelley, you have just hit a little big of this big iceberg. JDT
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- We all must remember that our soldiers who are fighting in this illegal war are taking Rx meds too..Our children, our grandchildren, our parents, our grandparents, our neighbors, our friends..what is going to happen when another bad "batch" of meds come out of another plant in some other country. The guy from Glaxo said they have 80 other manufacturing plants...Where are they located???
I think I said that I threw out my Glaxo toothpaste after watching this program, now I am looking thru my medicine cabinet and going to throw out any other Glaxo products. My Sensodyne toothpaste made by Glaxo didn't say what country is was made in either on the box or the tube.. I might have been made in Mexico, like a lot of Colgate is, from contaminated water and poor manufacturing conditions..Anyone know where Sensodyne toothpaste is made?? - Reply to this comment
