Pharma Blog Watch

Risk Management (Eye on FDA)
In his blog, Mark Senak again addresses the topic of healthcare communications with an entry on risk management, citing the failed efforts to manage risk associated with the diabetes drug Rezulin.

He writes that "in the post-COX-2 environment, it is difficult to see a future that doesn't have the FDA more involved in risk management plans and requiring such plans of companies as a condition to drug approval."

Healthcare Efficiency (Drug Wonks)
In his entry, blogger Peter Pitts discusses the idea of efficiency in healthcare as it relates to formularies, referring to a study that found that "the tighter the formulary restrictions, the higher the overall cost of care — and what drove the increased costs was the association between formulary restrictions and utilization of care."

"'Efficient' is a cost-based word and patient-centric concerns be damned," he concludes.