And sure enough , the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in 2019 that “ Humira [ has been ] linked to 169,000 reported serious adverse events and 13,000 reports of deaths .”
Problematic Ads
There ’ s a marketing term , “ disease mongering ,” which refers to a drugmaker selling a disease in order to sell the drug manufactured to treat it .
Ads for rare conditions such as non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder and EPI , or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency , that “ raise awareness ” of an obscure condition and often include self-quizzes are clear examples of disease mongering , but ads for biologics may somewhat share the tactics .
“ Growing patient knowledge of rheumatoid arthritis problems is another factor driving the global rheumatoid arthritis medications market ,” Precedence Research wrote this year , noting that “ the global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market size is estimated to surpass around US $ 70 billion by 2030 .”
Certainly ankylosing spondylitis , rheumatoid arthritis , plaque psoriasis , and similar conditions exist and cause suffering , but marketers know that the seeking of treatment for diseases rises with drug advertising .
Ten years after direct-to-consumer drug advertising , which heavily sold antidepressants , research published in the Journal of Business Ethics in 2008 stated :
“ This study finds that familiarity with direct-to-consumer ( DTC ) print advertisements for antidepressant brands is associated with inflated perceptions of the prevalence and lifetime risk of depression … The study ultimately demonstrates that DTC advertising may play a role in constructing social reality of diseases and medicine … as well as presenting issues regarding public health and the business ethics of advertising drugs to consumers .”
AbbVie Machinations
How did AbbVie turn an expensive , possibly dangerous drug into pay dirt ? In 2003 , its parent company , suburban-based Abbott Laboratories , announced that it would “ provide its recently approved rheumatoid arthritis drug [ Humira ] free to Medicare patients without drug coverage until the government agrees to pay for the medicine ,” according to the Chicago Tribune .
The maneuver worked , and the drug was covered by Medicare . Abbott then hired the public relations giant Edelman and the pharmaceutical ad agency Harrison and Star to blitz Humira and , in 2012 , gave Humira to a newly spun-off company called AbbVie .
AbbVie took it from there . Between 2013 and 2017 , AbbVie gave $ 2 million in grants and donations to the American Academy of Dermatology , which didn ’ t hurt sales . It launched a “ nurse ambassador ” program in 2012 in which registered nurses were paid to go to the homes of Humira patients , all the while downplaying the biologic ’ s risks of cancer and serious infections . The nurses were instructed to avoid directly answering patient questions about serious side effects , according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel .
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara ’ s office estimated that private insurers based in California alone likely “ paid out $ 1.2 billion in Humira claims from 2013 to 2018 , making it potentially the largest insurance fraud case in the department ’ s history ,” the Journal Sentinel reported in 2019 .
“ Through the program , doctors allegedly got kickbacks in the form of cash , meals , drinks , gifts , trips , even patient referrals ,” the newspaper wrote . “ One court document indicates the national program reached 179,000 patients .”
What Do Patients Say ?
Some patients swear by the TNF-suppressing biologics , which certainly explains their popularity — and profits .
On the website Ask a Patient , where patients rate prescription drugs , a 67-year-old woman who had been on Humira for nine years posted in 2017 about the drug : “ Thankful every day for this amazing drug , which has given me back my life . Severe pain all over my body , from [ the time I was ] a fit and active 27-year-old , [ I ] became totally debilitated and most DMARDs [ disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs ] barely touched it . … No pain , no psoriasis . Happy person , back at work , and learned to SCUBA dive .”
Yet other patients on Ask a Patient cite staphylococcus and other serious infections , depression and mood side effects , sinus side effects , and the Humira ceasing to work after a while .
A 43-year-old man who took Humira for one year to treat spondylopathy wrote : “ When I took Humira , it worked immediately . But within three months , I began to have worse sinus issues . Contracted klebsiella pneumonia and a systemic fungal infection and had to stop taking it . The fungal infection has been treatment resistant . I wish I knew then what I know now … that an anti-inflammatory diet works wonders for autoimmune disease . My arthritis is cleared from the diet , but I am disabled because of the infection caused by Humira . Stay away at all costs .”
Conclusion
Clearly , the profit potential of TNF-suppressor biologics has made them a drug of choice for many physicians and patients . However , concerns about pricing , risks , effectiveness , and marketing may raise skepticism — are the drugs good for patients or just good for drugmakers ?
Many health-oriented websites offer natural treatments for the conditions that the TNF-suppressing biologics address . For many of these conditions , lifestyle , exercise , and dietary changes can have a profound effect . These approaches may help patients avoid a costly class of drugs and potential side effects .
72 x The Trial Lawyer