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Blood Feud: The Man Who Blew the Whistle on One of the Deadliest Prescription Drugs Ever
Blood Feud is the electrifying true tale of Big Pharma's power, regulatory weakness, and the terrifying vulnerability of millions of innocent patients.
THE PLAYERS
The Drug: Procrit
An anti-anemia drug, this miraculous blood booster was one of the first biotech blockbusters. Developed by Amgen and licensed to a Johnson & Johnson company, the drug was sold by the two co...more
THE PLAYERS
The Drug: Procrit
An anti-anemia drug, this miraculous blood booster was one of the first biotech blockbusters. Developed by Amgen and licensed to a Johnson & Johnson company, the drug was sold by the two co...more
Hardcover, 432 pages
Published
September 20th 2011
by Dutton Adult
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Yes, the label of "Big Pharma" can be thrown around indiscriminately.
Then, a book like this suggests we need to use it even more.
There's an ugly world out there of drug company sales reps essentially bribing doctors, hospitals and clinics to use their brand of drugs. There's gimmes galore, and far beyond note pads or pens. Add in lines of credit, rebates, discounts, free initial supplies of drugs and more, and its sickening.
Then, the George Bush FDA decided to roll back most of the limited amoun...more
Then, a book like this suggests we need to use it even more.
There's an ugly world out there of drug company sales reps essentially bribing doctors, hospitals and clinics to use their brand of drugs. There's gimmes galore, and far beyond note pads or pens. Add in lines of credit, rebates, discounts, free initial supplies of drugs and more, and its sickening.
Then, the George Bush FDA decided to roll back most of the limited amoun...more
“Blood Feud” is the tragic and true story of two drug reps trying to expose the unethical and illegal practices of a pharmaceutical giant in marketing a dangerous biotech-based drug. I ordered it at the same time that I ordered Jeffrey Eugenides' new book, The Marriage Plot. Usually I race through fiction and leave nonfiction for weeks on end, reading a bit at a time. I started both books and quickly put the novel aside. That's never happened before.
At first I was a little disbelieving of the as...more
At first I was a little disbelieving of the as...more
My rating is a weighted rating. The author is a great story teller. The narrative was compelling. I wanted to know what happened next. (=4 stars) But...like reality television, the story is probably only coincidentally linked to the facts of the case, which if one is advertising the 'true, inside, story' isn't a good thing to do. (=1 star).
The book begins with the tragic death of a patient who had suffered from recurrent cancer. It is suggested that the patient died as a result of an adverse rea...more
The book begins with the tragic death of a patient who had suffered from recurrent cancer. It is suggested that the patient died as a result of an adverse rea...more
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While this is a book about an important issue (the shady world of prescription drug marketing and approval in this country), I didn't really feel like it was a book about what it says it is about. I picked it up because the subtitle is "The Man who blew the whistle on one of the deadliest prescription drugs ever--Procrit"; a drug I know and studied well. I had no idea it had become the deadliest prescription drug ever. After reading the book, I STILL don't know that. The book was way more about...more
This was an interesting read. Although the timeline bounced here and there (making for a bit of confusion), the content will blow your socks off. This is a whistle-blower story and will simply piss you off that big pharma companies behave so slyly and slickly. The story illustrates, in part, how lame the FDA is based on who its political leader is, allowing for big pharma to sell unproven drugs for unpermitted uses and kill Americans in the process; all in the name of profit and to outsell the c...more
Ive been in differnt types of sales work, time share, alarm systems,
advertising and they could be considered at times a bit shady. The drug saleman is in a different class of sales altogher. They hype the benifits and skip over the risk. The risk factor of someone getting killed from a sale is beyond me how they are not aware of damage that
a "customer" should be educated on. I had sympathy for Duxbury but as
the book goes his wilful blindness is unbeliveable. If asprin was just
invented these guy...more
advertising and they could be considered at times a bit shady. The drug saleman is in a different class of sales altogher. They hype the benifits and skip over the risk. The risk factor of someone getting killed from a sale is beyond me how they are not aware of damage that
a "customer" should be educated on. I had sympathy for Duxbury but as
the book goes his wilful blindness is unbeliveable. If asprin was just
invented these guy...more
I read this book because it was recommended by the Editor of MedPage Today; however, I would not recommend this book to others. It was much too long for the real story I wanted to know about. The writing is not very good at all. By the last 100 pages, I could have returned it to the library without finishing and would have no problem with it. At the end of the book, I hated the main character, Mark Duxbury, and he's the one we're supposed to care about! That's never a good thing. She also misspe...more
Good but not great. This is the story of a whistle-blower who lodged a complaint against Johnson and Johnson arising out of the sale of Procrit. The story is an interesting one, and I learned quite a lot about medical reps, and unfortunately about the sale of drugs in America, waste fraud and abuse in the system, and the injustice and inefficiency of our medical regulatory system. It is a scary story.
The book itself focuses on one of the two whistleblowers, and how his disillusionment and journe...more
The book itself focuses on one of the two whistleblowers, and how his disillusionment and journe...more
The amazing true story of the pharmaceutical company Amgen and the anti-anemia drug Procrit. This book explains the great lengths that drug companies and their sales reps will go to in order to make money selling a drug. Fast paced and interesting book.
This book is about the drug best known as a red blood cell producer used for patients on dialysis and chemotherapy, as well as by professional bike riders to increase their endurance.
This book is about the drug best known as a red blood cell producer used for patients on dialysis and chemotherapy, as well as by professional bike riders to increase their endurance.
A fantastic expose not only about the particular drug at issue--Procrit--but the world of pharmaceutical sales. The author seems like she's in a creative writing class at times--just horrible similes and metaphors--(e.g. spread like scurvy on a galleon) and everyone has a "winsome" smile. And the "hero" of the book is a pharmaceutical salesman that the author tries to redeem, but is really just a slimey drug rep. Still, a great look into what goes on in this industry.
Sharp tells the story of Mark Duxbury, employee of Johnson and Johnson. He sales a new drug called Procrit. Duxbury becomes a whistleblower when he realizes company is using biased marketing, doctors are being paid to use drug, promotions for drug are questionable and patients are dying. Book details his efforts to beat the system.
I wanted to like this book more than I did as it was the story of a man's fight against Big Pharma. But it dealt a whole lot with his personal life, which was a mess and, to me, at least a little bit detracted from the righteousness of his story. It has frequently been compared to
A Civil Action but I liked ACA better.
A Civil Action but I liked ACA better.
Real story about a red blood cell drug and the drug rep who blew the whistle on it. Reads like a thriller and is a real eye-opener about the pharmaceutical industry and regulators who are supposed to keep dangerous drugs off the market.
This book is a biographical-like story of the sales career with and later struggles against the Johnson and Johnson company and their drug, Procrit. This is a must read for anyone who hates the pharmaceutical industry.
An important read regarding the potential for misdeeds in pharmaceutical marketing. Good insight into how sales quotas are more important than facts and risks. Not that well written but important in content.
Interesting but silly in parts. Details the drug wars between Amgen and Ortho-Biotech.
May 02, 2012
Vicki
added it
Very eye opening and interesting!
Very brave. But Kathleen herself admitted that she was influenced by the strong personalities she was covering. Not enough character development of the drug execs.
Best book since Civil Action
this was way longer than it had to be to tell the story...it is an important topic though (drug reps pushing drugs)
Jun 04, 2013
Jade Robertson
marked it as to-read
Apr 15, 2013
Mafaldabadia
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Mar 29, 2013
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Kelsie
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Cindi Knight
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Amanda Adamek
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Feb 24, 2013
Ethan Fusaris
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