A 53 year old Maryland psychiatrist, Dr. Peter Gleason, was arrested, and later charged for doing something that has become common among doctors: promoting a drug for purposes other than those approved by the federal government.
Prosecutors say that Dr. Gleason went too far.
At hundreds of speeches and seminars where he was rewarded with generous fees (more than $100,000 last year alone), Dr. Gleason advised other physicians that a powerful drug for narcolepsy (Xyrem) could be prescribed for depression and pain relief.
In doing so, he conspired with the drug’s manufacturer (Jazz Pharmaceuticals) to recommend it for potentially dangerous uses. The case has put the spotlight on the murky financial relationships between drug companies and the physicians they use to promote their medicines.
Companies cannot directly advertise drugs for purposes not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. But getting drugs prescribed for unapproved uses can increase a drug’s sales, so companies often skirt the rules by sponsoring seminars where doctors are paid to make presentations promoting their drugs, including the “off label” uses.
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