Before creating AbbVie , Abbott had already lobbied Congress successfully to get Humira covered by Medicare and seeded seniors with “ free samples ” to create “ demand .” Today Humira costs $ 2,984 per one syringe , pricing which the U . S . Congress is investigating . The cost of the Medicare-reimbursed Humira has been raised 27 times since the drug ’ s launch .
AbbVie then created a “ nurse ambassador ” program according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in which registered nurses were paid to go to the homes of people taking Humira to assure compliance and downplay risks . At least 179,000 patients were reached through the nurse program according to a Journal source and doctors allegedly received kickbacks from the program .
Meanwhile the television airwaves in the United States were saturated . Humira is arguably the most advertised prescription drug on TV and even increased its presence during the COVID-19 pandemic as more lockeddown people watched TV . According to Fierce Pharma , AbbVie spent $ 52.9 million advertising Humira in April , 2020 , double the ad budget of its next closest competitors which were also high .
According to the Journal Sentinel , between 2013 and 2017 , AbbVie also greased the palm of the American Academy of Dermatology to the tune of $ 2 million in grants and donations .
34 x The Trial Lawyer
Another marketing tactic is indication creep — the successful addition of new indications like uveitis , hidradenitis suppurativa , plaque psoriasis , juvenile idiopathic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis to Humira once its RA indication was FDA approved .
Humira Drug Safety Risks
Even before the creation of AbbVie , Humira was linked to serious and sometimes lethal side effects . In 2008 , the Associated Press reported 240 people had contracted the fungal infection histoplasmosis from Humira and similar drugs — and that 20 percent died . Current Humira prescribing information reads , “ Lymphoma and other malignancies , some fatal , have been reported in children and adolescent patients treated with TNF blockers , including HUMIRA . Postmarketing cases of hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma ( HSTCL ), a rare type of T-cell lymphoma , have been reported in patients treated with TNF blockers , including HUMIRA . These cases have had a very aggressive disease course and have been fatal .”
More Drug Safety Risks and Hypochondria
Many have observed that raising “ awareness ” of a disease — whether RA or ankylosing spondylitis — increases self-diagnosis and drug sales , even hypochondria . The proof is that “ unbranded ” disease awareness advertising ( that mentions neither the medication being sold or the sponsor ) constitutes a big part of drug maker budgets . The “ sale ” occurs when the disease is searched online revealing symptom quizzes and even “ scripts ” to recite during the suggested doctor visit . ( Yes , patients are doing drug reps ’ work for free .)
For example , AbbVie “ Face Your Back Pain ” campaign has tried to sell its ankylosing spondylitis drugs through convincing people they have “ AS .”* Currently , AbbVie is selling “ EPI ,” short for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency . Despite the COVID-19 pandemic , wildfires , hurricanes , mass shootings , lead in water systems , oil spills , earthquakes and floods , the ads would have us believe the real risk people face today is EPI — a disease so obscure that few of the doctors with whom I work have ever encountered it .
“ My number two does not look like a number two . I don ’ t know what to call it ,” began an old AbbVie radio ad for EPI with the payoff line , “ Don ’ t Keep a Lid on It .” Currently , AbbVie ’ s radio ads sport a man and woman suggestively asking in unison “ Could I have EPI ?” and telling listeners to get more specific with their doctors . Creon , the drug AbbVie is selling for EPI , contains animal derived pancreatic enzymes and sells for several hundred dollars . Like Humira , the risks listed on its prescribing information are alarming .
Money Over Safety
In the countries where direct-toconsumer drug advertising exists , many say it has not improved public health but promoted unsafe drugs and hypochondria . Moreover , since drug makers are major funders of news media , the huge ad revenues may explain why unsafe drugs and unethical marketing is very underreported .