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| home > epc > autumn 2002 > a call to regulate the online sale of prescription drugs |
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European Pharmaceutical Contractor
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The Internet has often been likened to the Wild West: there are few established laws and the regulatory bodies that do exist have little power to enforce them. There have been a number of high profile cases of Internet crime in the past few years, several of which have resulted in prison sentences for the accused. Less well publicised has been the recent increase in websites illegally selling prescription drugs online.
The Internet has rapidly become a major channel for all kinds of commerce. E-commerce now enables consumers to buy books, software, CDs and DVDs, flights and holidays and even food from their local supermarket, all without ever leaving their house. For most goods and services, there is little for authorities to worry about in this development.
However, a large number of websites are now available selling prescription and non-prescription drugs to consumers. Often these drugs are sold on the basis of an 'online checkup', where a doctor remotely diagnoses a patient's condition and prescribes medication without the need for a personal visit. Some websites operate with yet looser restrictions, and appear to be able to sell drugs to anyone willing to tick a box proclaiming that they are allowed to take such medicines.
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Industry Events |
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4th Annual Patient Recruitment and Retention in Clinical Trials
13-15 October 2008, Amsterdam
Patient recruitment
is now consuming thirty percent of clinical trial time - more time than any
other clinical trial activity - and almost half of all trial delays result from
patient recruitment problems.
As the
recruiting culture becomes more sophisticated and the forces affecting patient
enrollment grow more numerous and complex, pharmaceutical companies are
striving to discover new strategies to facilitate enrollment in clinical
trials.
With
increasing industry pressure to develop, test and market greater numbers of new
drugs faster, pharmaceutical companies need to perform clinical trials as
quickly as possible. Inefficient patient recruitment processes is a formidable
barrier to pharmaceutical companies' success in launching new products.
Improving the patient recruitment process is imperative to avoid wasted
investments and eliminate costly delays in bringing new drugs to market --
today and even more so in the not-so-distant future. Improved patient
recruitment presents one of the largest opportunities for pharmaceutical
companies to eliminate delays in clinical trials, thereby making it possible to
reduce time to market. With patent time limits and large overheads
meaning that any delays in the development timeline can be disastrous, a good
understanding of how to successfully recruit patients for trials is vital for
any company looking to succeed.
More info >> |
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