MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'champix'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:49:45 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4883904&cid=t_123788_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FzohcjyKCaD8%2F France has decided to remove Chantix, the Pfizer smoking-cessation drug, from its register of medicines for which patients can be reimbursed from government funds. “Questions have been raised about Champix, so I’ve decided it will no longer be covered by (state) health insurance,” Health Minister Xavier Bertrand told France 2 television, according to Reuters. The move comes amid growing problems for Pfizer and its controversial pill, which has been named in connection with suicides and violent behaviors. Two weeks ago, a watchdog group reported that Pfizer incorrectly submitted hundreds of Chantix side effects to the FDA, raising questions about the extent to which the agency was properly briefed, although the FDA subsequently released a statement saying no safety concern... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4883904 Tue, 31 May 2011 16:08:11 +0100 4883904 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4309853&cid=t_123788_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F9rqVTG8Yxrg%2F Talk about strategic blunders. For a company that prides itself on astute marketing and touts the virtues of expanding in Asia, Pfizer somehow managed to entirely misjudge demand for its Chantix pill for quitting smoking when Japan significantly raised cigarette taxes in October. Yet the move had been telegraphed back in late 2009, giving the drugmaker ample time to boost supplies to a rising number of Japanese who saw the new tax as a reason to quit the habit. But the Pfizer team choked. Less than two weeks after the tax increase went into effect, Pfizer had to suspend sales until production could be increased. Three months later, Chantix is still hard to come by, and this happens at a time when US sales are falling due to side effect concerns that regularly generate negative press. (In t... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4309853 Tue, 04 Jan 2011 13:02:20 +0100 4309853 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119716&cid=t_123788_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F_uKvTFMX99I%2F Rise and shine, everyone. Another day beckons. And this is a special one here on the Pharmalot corporate campus as the shortest of short people celebrates a birthday. An especially large cup of stimulation is in order…among other things. While we fuss, please enjoy these items and, of course, we hope your weekend is wonderful. Whether you pick a pumpkin, rake some leaves, read a book or enjoy a walk, do enjoy yourselves. See you soon… Glaxo Licenses Amicus Therapeutics’ Fabry Drug (Reuters) Sanofi-Aventis Buys A Chinese OTC Maker (Associated Press) Glaxo Cuts Prices In Indonesia By Up To 50 Percent (Reuters) Hepatitis C Is Fertile Field For Blockbusters (The Wall Street Journal) Supreme Court To Review Roche And Stanford Dispute Today (The Tech) AstraZeneca And Daiichi Sign $... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119716 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 11:35:14 +0100 4119716 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3915287&cid=t_123788_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FFkE6VfIUY2g%2F Two years ago, the Pharmac government agency in New Zealand, which is responsible for subsidizing meds, declined funding for Pfizer’s Chantix smoking-cessation drug over safety concerns. Ten deaths were reported among people who were using the med. Chantix, you may recall, has been associated with various side effects, including suicidal behavior and vivid dreams, among other things (recent background). Now, though, Pharmac has changed its mind and is planning to subsidize use of the drug, which is called Champix in New Zealand. Why? Pharmac struck a bargain with Pfizer, which offered a package deal involving four of its meds, and the deal will lower the Chantix cost from about $200 a month to roughly $130. In explaining the move, Pharmac medical director Peter Moody tells The New Ze... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3915287 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:46:58 +0100 3915287 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1649309&cid=t_123788_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F343503508%2F The smoking-cessation drug isn’t ringing the register, thanks to months of bad publicity and regulatory warnings, although this should hardly come as a surprise. In its earnings report, Pfizer notes that Chantix revenues in the second-quarter were $207 million, an increase of just 3 percent compared with the same period a year earlier. In the US, specifically, Chantix revenues fell 35 percent to $109 million, although international sales rose 197 percent to $98 million. To compensate, Pfizer vows to continue educational and promotional efforts focused on the Chantix “risk-benefit proposition” and the health consequences of smoking. Meanwhile, overseas marketing is expanding. Known as Champix overseas, the drug was just launched in Japan and will soon debut in Russia, Turk... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1649309 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:21:45 +0100 1649309 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1492326&cid=t_123788_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F303835492%2F Last week, Pfizer mounted an aggressive defense of Chantix after the pill was linked to 988 serious injuries and a host of side effects, including heart irregularities, seizures, severe skin reactions, acute myocardial infarction, aggression and suicide. Newspaper ads were run and a media ’roundtable’ was scheduled with Joe Feczko, Pfizer’s chief medical officer, among others. But across the world in India, smokers may not know about the problems from reading the official web site for Champix, the name for the pill in many other markets, unless they register as a Champix club member. In conjunction with the World No Tobacco Day this past Saturday, Pfizer launched the site, which implores smokers to sign up for its club. However, none of the side effects that have caused ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1492326 Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:07:59 +0100 1492326 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1466825&cid=t_123788_87_f&fid=34595&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnhsblogdoc.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F05%2Fhow-not-to-stop-smoking.html As readers of NHS BLOG DOCTOR will be only too well aware, I am a curmudgeonly, cantankerous old bugger at times. There is nothing more likely to reduce me to rage than a patient leaving a chitty from a “health care professional” instructing me to prescribe nicotine substitutes. Lots of reasons for my anger.  First and foremost, I am not going to be told what to do by an unqualified HCP. Secondly, most HCPs are not allowed to prescribe, and for good reason, and the ones who are so allowed are dangerous. The way things are going soon they will all be allowed to prescribe independently. So be it. I will not be responsible for their actions - and don’t say I didn’t warn you about the dangers.  Thirdly, I object to the taxpayer having to underwrite the substantial cost of nicotine su... NHS Blog Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1466825 Sat, 24 May 2008 20:21:00 +0100 1466825 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=658872&cid=t_123788_87_f&fid=34866&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecardioblog.com%2F2007%2F06%2F05%2Fwant-to-quit-lighting-up-pop-a-pill-instead%2F Filed under: Smoking, DrugsFor those who are trying to kick a smoking habit, there is a new pill in town. Champix, recently approved in England, is a pill that can be taken two times per day and helps curb the nicotine cravings and reduces other negative withdrawal symptoms. As mentioned by Maggie Vink on our sister blog, That's Fit, the drug currently has a success rate of approximately 50%. The approval of Champix comes at an opportune time for many English smokers wishing to quit. Beginning July 1, a national ban on smoking in enclosed spaces will take effect. Although I am not a smoker, I have many a friend who deal with this addiction. Watching them go through the grueling process of quitting is always painful. The fact that there is a new hope for those who want to quit is absolutely... The Cardio Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=658872 Tue, 05 Jun 2007 04:00:00 +0100 658872