Thursday, October 26, 2006

Studies challenge drugmakers' claims

This story really shouldn't be that surprising. These medications have been primarily touted as a modest first step to treat Alzheimer's. I suppose the bigger question is whether they are worth the expense. There are a lot of drugs on the market that are worthy of coverage, and budgets are limited. Sometimes tough decisions have to be made by the drug benefit managers.

From the Ottawa Citizen:
Canadians spent $143 million last year on three major drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease, but a national study suggests that investment produces few meaningful results for patients or their caregivers.

The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health last year completed a thorough review of drug trials related to the Alzheimer's drugs Aricept, Exelon and Reminyl. ...more

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