Most Prescription Drugs Don't Work

Thursday, July 15th 2004

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At a scientific meeting in London recently, Dr Allen Roses, world-wide vice president of Genetics at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the UK's largest drug conglomerate, announced that actually, most of their prescription drugs don't work - and indeed, nor do anybody else's.

"Fewer than half of the patients prescribed some of the most expensive drugs actually derived any benefit from them. The vast majority of drugs - more than 90 per cent - only work in 30 to 50 per cent of people," said Dr Roses. For instance, drugs for Alzheimer's disease work in fewer than 1 in 3 patients; drugs for cancer, in a quarter of patients; drugs for migraines, osteoporosis and arthritis, in about half of patents, he said.

It is an open secret within the drugs industry that most of its products are ineffective in most patients but this is the first time that such a senior drugs boss has gone public. Dr Roses comments come days after it emerged that the British drugs bill has soared by nearly 50 per cent in three years, rising by nearly NZ$7bn a year to an annual cost to the taxpayer of NZ$22bn. GSK announced last week that it had 20 or more new drugs under development that could each earn the company up to NZ$3bn a year. Roses statement has now clarified many things.

This goes against a marketing culture within the drug industry that has relied on selling as many drugs as possible to the widest number of patients - a culture that has made GSK one of the most profitable pharmaceuticals companies, but which has also meant that most of its drugs are at best useless, and even possibly dangerous, for many patients.

Dr Roses said doctors treating patients routinely applied the trial-and-error approach which says that if one drug does not work there is always another one.

It explains why drug companies are hard-selling drugs for children without testing. And now Veterinarians use the entire spectrum of modern human medicine on pets - again without testing. NSAID's, heart drugs, powerful steroids, antibiotics, antidepressants - you name it and kids and dogs are on it. Chaser drugs - used to counteract the side effects of an initial drug - are routine.

However, around the world people are becoming more sceptical and no longer believe the drug companies.

Reproduced unabridged from the July - September 2004 issue of Health and Herbal News, with the kind permission of Health and Herbs International Ltd.

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Astra Forte
Astragalus Root
Colloidal Silver
Colostrum Chewable
Inner Health Plus
Formula VM 2000
Immunurse
Myco Defence
SystemWell
Siberian Eleuthero
Triplex Immune Booster

Related health information can be found here:

Antibiotic Use
Arthritis & Rheumatism
Cancer
Migraines
Osteoporosis

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Dangers of prescription drugs

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Double standards and tiling at windmills

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Disclaimer: The health information presented here has been written for the New Zealand health consumer. It is of a general nature and is only intended to provide a summary of the subjects covered. The information is not intended to be comprehensive or to provide medical advice to you. While all care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information, no responsibility or liability is accepted, and no person should act in reliance on any statement contained in the information provided. All health ailments should be treated by a qualified health professional.

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