Category Archives: TGA

Where does the TGA stand on Pfizer campaign?

October 13, 2009 – 9:04 pm

As mentioned recently, Pfizer is hitting the consumer and medical media in the interests of its combination heart pill, Caduet.
Regular readers may remember that earlier this year Michele Kosky, executive director of the Health Consumers’ Council in WA, asked the TGA and Medicines Australia to investigate whether the consumer advertisement breaches the ban on direct-to-consumer [...]

By Croakey | Also posted in Media-related issues, adverse events, consumer health information, health & medical marketing | Tagged , , , , | Comments (3)

Are ginkgo enthusiasts being conned?

October 5, 2009 – 12:56 pm

The Ginkgo biloba or Maidenhair tree is a beautiful creature, and I’ve several growing myself.
But the gardener’s delight may be a patient’s peril – recent tests suggest some ginkgo products in Australia have been adulterated and that consumers are being conned.

Dr Ken Harvey, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in the School of Public Health at [...]

By Croakey | Also posted in complementary medicines, consumer health information | Tagged , , | Comments (8)

An injection of common sense into the swine flu response

September 22, 2009 – 8:46 pm

The announcement last Friday that the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved CSL’s vaccine against swine flu and that a national vaccination campaign will be rolled out in the next few weeks means two things:
• a lot of people must be working pretty hard and wondering how on earth they’re going to pull it all [...]

By Croakey | Also posted in global health, health & medical marketing, infectious diseases, influenza, swine flu | Comments (0)

Open letter to Mark Butler on “weak, dysfunctional and inconsistent” regulation of health industry marketing

September 11, 2009 – 12:54 pm

Following on from previous posts, here is another letter to Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Mark Butler, from Ken Harvey today (and copied to Graeme Samuel at the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission).
Will he get a response this time?
**
Dear Mr Butler,
Re: Media release, 8 September 2008, “Ethical Promotion of Therapeutic Goods”
I have written [...]

By Croakey | Also posted in health & medical marketing | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)

Is the TGA getting too cosy with industry?

September 9, 2009 – 3:30 pm

The Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Mark Butler, issued this release yesterday, clearly intending to allay concerns raised by the Sydney Morning Herald’s stories sounding the alarm about the marketing and use of medical devices.
Instead, he seems to have added fuel to the fire – at least, according to Dr Ken Harvey, who argues that the [...]

By Croakey | Also posted in conflicts of interest, health & medical marketing, quality and safety of health care, surgery | Comments (2)

Some questions for federal authorities on weight loss products

May 8, 2009 – 10:34 am

Ever since news broke about a US recall of weight loss products called Hydroxycut, the one-man industry watchdog Dr Ken Harvey has been on a campaign to get some action in Australia.
The Food and Drug Administration says the supplements have been associated with serious side effects, including liver toxicity.  In Canada, a class action law [...]

By Croakey | Also posted in Media-related issues, adverse events, complementary medicines, health & medical marketing, weight loss products | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

The blue continues over weight loss product guidelines

February 18, 2009 – 10:52 am

Ken Harvey’s recent Crikey piece about the TGA’s draft guidelines for evidence on weight loss products has apparently ruffled a few industry feathers.
Pharma Focus recently reported the ASMI’s concerns about “mischievous misrepresentation” of the guidelines.
The discussion continues below. Read on…
Part 1
From: Ken Harvey, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow
School of Public Health, La Trobe University
To: Deon Schoombie, [...]

By Croakey | Also posted in evidence-based issues, obesity, weight loss products | Tagged , , | Comments (2)