Developing and Marketing a Blockbuster Drug: Lessons from Eli Lilly’s Experience with Prozac

We have all seen them. Those countless commercials running all day every day, advertising the benefits of psychotropic drugs. Yet, no one can really tell you what they are for. Then, when one goes to a psychiatrist, many are prescribed these very same mystery drugs, often for feelings or conditions that are commonly found in most people. Psychotropic drugs are everywhere today. Physicians are often being prompted by big billion dollar drug companies to overprescribe psychotropic drugs in order to keep the massive industry moving, despite what damage it may actually be causing the patients who are already in a vulnerable state to begin with.

External stakeholders are stakeholders who are not as involved within Tesco PLC and RSPCA as much as the internal stakeholders but are involved in some way.

There are two types of stakeholders- internal and external. Internal stakeholders mean the business/organisation that runs the activities, for example – managers, employers, supervisors etc. On the other hand, external stakeholder means when the business/organisation depends on external factors that can affect the businesses’ decisions: for example- customers, suppliers and the government.

Many believe that brain chemistry cannot be solved with a chemical pill. “Mental illness is so much more complicated than any pill that any mortal could invent ” (Wurtzel). Elizabeth Wurtzel, author of Prozac Nation suffered from severe depression until she started taking the first rounds of the new pill prozac. “Sometimes it feels like we're all living in a Prozac nation. The United States of Depression. ” (Wurtzel).

Many have accused that Food and Drug Administration is not aggressively monitoring drugs prices, the FDA is in charge of regulating devices and drug production. Big Pharma spends billions of dollars annually on direct-to- consumer advertising which entitles manipulative strategies (4). The theory behind such good progress is the company attracts doctors, scientist, and other health related personnel’s. Medical research teams and doctors conduct extensive research with funds from Big Pharma. Even though many accuse Big Pharma for not following their mission statement it has not restricted them from purchasing their prescriptions medications. Big Pharma a company with many tactics and strategies, have been hiring former government workers whom have authoritative links to gain political influence. Currently, they have hired, 36 who worked for a member of Congress, 13 who worked for a federal agency, 2 who worked for the White House (4). With influenced members from Congress, they use their connection to reach their company goals. Unfortunately, U.S law permits drug manufacture companies to set prescriptions drugs prices without any restriction from the FDA. On the other hand, other countries set a limit on what companies can charge bases on the benefit of the drug (4). There are many hidden facts, which Big Pharma does not reveal; for example, the company spends double the amount of advertising then they do on research. Persuasion is the key to pharmaceutical industry, paying physicians/surgeons to incorporate their names on research articles, with the intent of getting published in

Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are an older type of antidepressant. Doctors rarely prescribe these as a first-line treatment for depression as they can be more dangerous if an overdose occurs. They also cause more unpleasant side effects than SSRIs and SNRIs.

All throughout the world people seek help. Whether the situation consists of needing medical help or just simply needing a hand with something. One may question how difficult the “challenge” might become, but they need to have the mindset that they can help the person. This leads to the main topic: A psychiatric physician assistant. This kind of physician helps treat people with mental disorders. Sounds like a challenge, right? “Well, the greatest advances in psychiatric treatment came in the latter part of the 19th century.” (Ferguson 169) “Emil Kraepelin, a German psychiatric, made an important contribution when he developed a classification system for mental illnesses that is still used for diagnosis.” (169) “Sigmund Freud, the famous

Federal antitrust enforcers are investigating whether a multinational pharmaceutical company has attempted to minimize the impact of generic competition to one of its most profitable prescription drugs. This antidepressant drug is the company 's best seller, with sales last year of $2.11 billion, representing a 22% increase from the year before. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is conducting an investigation to determine whether the company engaged in activities to prevent generic alternatives to the prescription drug from entering the market. Specifically, the FTC is challenging a practice among brand-name and generic drug manufacturers to agree to

Companies stand to lose a lot of profits once the patent expires on a widely used drug. The hugely popular antidepressant Prozac was a drug about to lose its patent, so what could the company do? They didn't want to lose millions of dollars did they? The company came up with a new plan, they created a new condition, PMDD (Pre-Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder), and then went to the FDA and doctors with their highly paid "experts" who convinced them that PMDD is a tragic disease. Their plan worked and got the "new" drug Sarafem (the same drug)

The Pharmaceutical companies have known the effects that SSRI?s have on the individual taking them, and these companies still decided to withhold this information from the Food and Drug Administration. The Big Pharmaceutical companies knew about these side effects and still chose not to release the information to the public as well. BIG PHARM also knew that SSRI?s are not safe for juveniles for these reasons. Instead of the government stopping BIG PHARM they sweep the issues under the rug because of the money that be made.

At first it was the cure all people were looking for. Then it became the drug they were afraid to take. Somewhere between these two extremes lies the truth about the drug Flouxetine, better known as Prozac, the most widely prescribed drug on the globe. It is mainly prescribed to patients suffering from clinical depression. It was first brought to the market in 1988 by the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly co. Even though it was originally prescribed for depression, it has been prescribed for everything from eating disorders to insomnia. It was first considered the wonder drug of the new decade because of the way it helped depression patients when no other anti-depressant could

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, antidepressants, are the most commonly prescribed medications in America where about one of ten Americans are prescribed to them. Dr. Joseph Glenmullen, a Harvard catalyst reports on the safety of these highly prescribed antidepressant drugs popularly known as: Paxil, Prozac, Luvoz, Zoloft, and Celexa; saying these drugs can be very dangerous when taken in

Doctors also prescribe Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors(SSRI) to individuals suffering from depression, but the same ailment can be treated with amino acid supplements. Some examples of SSRIs are Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft and Celexa. SSRIs increase the amount of serotonin in the synapse by blocking its reabsorption, helping the symptoms of depression improve. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, benzodiazepines lose their therapeutic anti-anxiety effect after 4 to 6 months of regular use. Dr. White, clinical psychologist and a certified neurotherapist, compares antidepressants to a foreign chemical. She is completely against the use of SSRIs because it blocks the reuptake of the serotonin into the neuron. In simple words,

Not only do Prozac and other SSRIs provide results for those suffering from depression, they manage to have other purposes. Prozac succeeds in reducing symptoms of major depressive disorder such as suicidal ideation, depressed mood, worthlessness and loss of energy. SSRI antidepressants “have better overall safety and tolerability than older antidepressants” and allowed patients to take the medication for longer (SSRI Antidepressant Medications: Adverse Effects and Tolerability). Not only could they help people experiencing the side effects of tricyclic antidepressants, but they could also be prescribed to children and the elderly (SSRI Antidepressant Medications: Adverse Effects and Tolerability). This lead to “more patients now [being] successfully treated for depression than ever before” (SSRI Antidepressant Medications: Adverse Effects and Tolerability). The new discoveries continued pouring in as researchers linked SSRI antidepressants to increased abstinence for people trying to quit smoking and effectiveness in eliminating symptoms of panic disorder (Elevated positive mood: A mixed blessing for abstinence, Panic disorder and suicidal behavior: A follow-up study of patients treated with cognitive therapy and SSRIs in Hungary). A Hungarian study using SSRIs was able to eliminate symptoms of panic disorder in 38.5% of participants and significantly reduce their suicidal ideation and behaviour (Panic disorder and suicidal behavior: A follow-up study of patients treated with cognitive therapy and SSRIs in Hungary). Furthermore, multiple studies have been conducting showing a negative relationship between smoking and the use of SSRI antidepressants, specifically for patients with generally low positive mood (Elevated positive mood: A mixed blessing for abstinence, Multicenter trial of fluoxetine as an adjunct to behavioral smoking cessation treatment.). SSRI antidepressants

Stakeholders can be divided into internal and external claimants. Internal claimants include shareholders and employees including the managers of the firm. External claimants typically comprise customers, suppliers, bankers, competitors, governments, trade unions, alliance partners, communities and the general public. Looking further into external stakeholders one could, also include the environment.