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[MS_Community] DenverPost.com: Drugmakers' lobby hoping to boost image

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Drugmakers' lobby hoping to boost image

Lack of disclosure eroded trustBy Anne C. Mulkern Denver Post Staff WriterDenverPost.com

Washington - With the nation's biggest drug companies under fire for failing to disclose some drug dangers, their powerful lobbying group is launching a campaign aimed at improving the industry's image. "You don't earn trust in a week. You certainly can't purchase it," said Tauzin, the former Louisiana congressman who now is chief executive of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. "What we are doing as a trade association is helping the industry find its way back to a position of trust and respect in America that it once enjoyed." Tauzin spoke with reporters as drug companies are coming under criticism. Last week, the House Government Reform committee released documents that showed how Merck & Co., maker of the arthritis drug Vioxx, coached its salespeople to steer around questions about potentially dangerous side effects of the drug. "The public has lost a lot of confidence in drug companies, the (Food and Drug Administration) and congressional oversight in recent years," said Rep. DeGette, D-Denver, who sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has oversight of health issues. "There needs to be more transparency by all parties in how drugs are brought to market and sold. We must also help make drugs more affordable for Americans." To win back trust, drug companies are working to create standards for ads, which will include more emphasis on what Tauzin called the "risk-reward ratio" of medications. By October, the drug companies hope to have a database of previously unreleased clinical trials for drugs approved after Oct. 1, 2002. Congress is talking about re- importing drugs from Canada to lower costs, restricting certain advertising for the first years a drug is on the market and splitting drug monitoring from drug approval in the FDA. Meanwhile, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mi chael Leavitt plans to create an independent board in the FDA to watch drug-safety issues. Tauzin said Monday he supported such a panel. He became CEO in January after he left Congress, where he was chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Some criticized Tauzin for moving so quickly to the industry he once helped regulate. He said Monday he took the job after battling cancer and becoming convinced of the importance of pharmaceuticals. "What's clear is they are working hard on their image," Gail Shearer, director of health policy analysis for Consumers Union, said of the drug industry. "What isn't clear is that they are working to get their prices lower."

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