Friday, October 15, 2010

The official website for the drug Olanzapine probably didn’t mention the fact it might cause diabetic symptoms in patients. Another website obviously did. Commercials on TV now are required to mention possible side effects. Should drug companies be required to come clean about situations like the one with Eli Lilly’s Olanzapine in their commercial websites? Why or why not?

I am a little torn over whether or not they need to be required to come clean. I think that a business should always follow good work ethics whether it is a pharmaceutical and drug company or any other company, they should be straightforward, honest, and try not to mislead anyone. That being said, the internet is basically an open-forum where anything can be said by pretty much anyone. So it almost seems like it would be against freedom of speech to limit them from being able to post whatever they want. But to withhold life-altering information to try and make money is not ethical or moral.
I would absolutely not be opposed to official drug websites having to be held to standards regulated by the FDA so as to not mislead people. This would also require organizations to have more integrity in their work and they would be able to more confidently stand beside their product. Why should they have to be held to standards through one medium but not another? So I think that it is not unconstitutional to require commercial companies to be required to provide all of the information. They absolutely should be required to post all of the information so that it is accessible and clear on their commercial website.

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