Drugs & Medication | Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Drug Association

Reading Drug Labels

There are certain pieces of information that you are always going to find on medicine bottle labels. On the front of the label you are going to find an expiration date, a product name, statement of identity, the product dose and a net quantity of contents followed by the name and the address of the company that manufactured the product.

The back of the label contains significantly more information. You will find the active ingredients in list form, indications for use, the warning statements and cautionary statements, directions for use and dosage instructions and information about tamper resistant features and other vital information for use. Consumer medication labels are designed to contain all of the valuable information that you need in order to use the medication safely and effectively. It is vitally essential that you read the entire drug label before you begin to take the medication. If you are unsure about anything when reading the label, phone your pharmacist or your physician immediately to receive guidance and advice.

Drug facts labels can say a lot of different things depending on what the medication is and what purpose it is indicated for. Make sure that you are always using your medications as they were designed to be used as well as based on how your physician told you to take the medication. It is completely normal to have questions, so do not be afraid to read out to your physician if you feel uncomfortable about what you are reading, or if you are unsure of whether or not you are taking the medication in the way that you were directed to do so. The best way to ensure that you use your prescription medication properly is to follow all physician directions and have any questions answered prior to use. A little planning and forethought can go a long way in ensuring that you use your medications in a safe and effective manner at all times.

Filed Under: Drugs & Medication, Prescription drug Tagged With: Label, Pharmaceutical drug, Physician

Contact Your Doctor About Side Effects of Erectile Dysfunction Drugs

Viagra is a great drug that has helped many men live healthy and fulfilling sexual lives, giving them the extra push they need to stay on top of their game. But like many other drugs, is also has side effects. This is one of the reasons you need a doctor’s prescription to buy it.

One of the most well-known side effects of Viagra is an erection that last too long. As most men know, maintaining a constant erection for an hour or more can become very painful. An erection is achieved when blood rushes into the penis and dilates the blood vessels and capillaries, similar to a balloon being blown up. The pressure on the vessel walls is not painful over short periods of time. But as you can imagine, that pressure can become painful if sustained for longer.If you have an erection that is lasting longer than it should and is becoming painful, it is important that you see a doctor as soon as possible. A medical professional can help reduce the swelling pressure in your penis and relieve the pain.

Other reported side effects of this drug are headaches and a reduction in the ability to distinguish between the colors blue and green. If you become aware of either of these symptoms, you should stop taking the drug and talk to your doctor. Nevertheless, most men never experience any of these symptoms and enjoy the boost that this great drug gives them.

On the other hand, some erectile dysfunction medications have been known to increase the risk of heart attack, so it is important to talk with your doctor before taking any. He’ll review your history and make sure you are healthy and that you are good candidate before he gives you a prescription.Once you’ve talked with your doctor and received a prescription, you can buy Viagra cheaply and easily online

Filed Under: Drugs & Medication, Prescription drug Tagged With: Erectile dysfunction, Erection, Sildenafil

Introduction to Drug Standards

Drug Standards

A part of the pharmaceuticals industry is what is known as drug standards, dictating the quality, the purity, the safety and the strength of prescription drugs from all categories.

Drug standards are specific rules that are set in order to assure customers that they will receive exactly what they pay for. The laws regarding drug standards dictate that every preparation called by a single drug name must be of uniform levels of purity, quality and strength. These are absolutely important considerations, because it means that the laws that exist to create drug standards are designed to ensure that you are safe and that you can rely on your prescription drugs to improve your health rather than to detract from it.

Due to drug standardization, any time you bring a prescription to a pharmacist to be filled, you are going to be assured that you will be getting the same basic drug, which will be in the same quality and the same amount no matter which pharmacy you decide to visit, or which part of the country you are buying the prescription in. According to these drug standards, drug companies cannot add any other active ingredients or vary the amounts of chemicals in any specific drug preparation. They are absolutely legally required to meet these drug standards which are federally approved requirements for the purity, strength and quality of the drug that has been specified.

Drug standard laws have evolved over time in order to provide consumers with safety when it comes to prescription drugs. There are a number of acts that have gone into effect to create these drug standards including the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act in 1938 and the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. These acts have all played important roles in developing drug standards to make sure that consumers are always protected. They ensure that all prescription drugs are regulated and that they only come from regulated and FDA approved labs so that they are consistent in quality and contents and purity at all times.

Filed Under: Drugs & Medication, Medical Technology Tagged With: Prescription drug, Pure Food and Drug Act

Facts and Fallacies About Pharmacology

Fallacy: It is a common misconception that only nurses are able to give medicines to their patients.

Fact: Many types of trained and certified practitioners of healthcare can legally give medications including physicians, physician assistants, paramedics, practical nurses, vocational nurses, registered nurse, medical office assistants, paramedics and other health specialists including respiratory therapists for example.

Fallacy: It is a common misconception that only physicians are allowed to write prescriptions.

Fact: Many health care providers are legally allowed to write prescriptions within the specific field that they work in, depending on state law which governs how prescriptions are written. Dentists, physicians assistants, physicians, nurse practitioners, veterinarians and pharmacists may all write prescriptions. For example, only veterinarians would be allowed to write an animal prescription and only a dentist would be able to write a dental prescription.

Fallacy: Prescriptions are only required for narcotic drugs.

Fact: There are specific drugs that are ruled as being illegal to purchase without the use of a prescription, and these include drugs that need to be controlled because they are addictive in nature or tend to be abused or dangerous and drugs that may cause a dangerous health threat due to side effects if they are taken improperly. Examples of drugs from the first group include depressants, psychedelics, narcotics and stimulants. Examples of drugs from the second group include tranquilizers, cardiac drugs and antibiotics.

Fallacy: All drugs that are produced in the United States have been created in a federally approved laboratory.

Fact: The truth is that there are a number of undercover and illegal laboratories that exist and continue to operate within the United States, even today, and so all drugs produced in the United States are not necessarily controlled or legal. Prescription drugs are safe, however, which is another reason for why it is important to only use medications that are prescribed to you or otherwise given to you by a trustworthy physician with the proper licensure.

Filed Under: Drugs & Medication, Medical Technology Tagged With: Health care provider, Physician, Prescription drug

Merck & Co., Inc. is One of the Largest Pharmaceutical Companies in the World

Merck & Co., Inc., is also known by its formal name of Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside of North America. The company is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and employs over 50,000 people. The company can trace its origins to Friedrich Jacob Merck. He purchased a drugstore in Darmstadt, Germany in the 1660′s. Emanuel Merck took ownership of the store several generations later and began building up a chemical/pharmaceutical company that produced raw materials for use in pharmaceutical production as well as chemicals. George Merck established the company in the United States in 1891 as a subsidiary of a German company called Merck KGaA. In 1917, during World War I, the United States subsidiary was confiscated from Germany and became an independent company.

MSD is a global research driven company that discovered and manufactured many products to promote the health of both humans and animals. These products include Gardasil, Singulair, and Zocor. Their products range from an anti-venom to the black widow spider bite, to vaccines, drugs for chemotherapy, heart medicine, etc. Merck also maintains The Merck Company Foundation that distributes funding to educational and non-profit organizations. Merck also publishes the Merck Manuals, which is a series of medical reference books.

In 2009, MSD announced a $41 billion merger with competitor Schering Plough. Schering Plough was renamed as Merck and continued operating as a public corporation. The merger with Schering Plough strengthened Merck’s pharmaceutical offerings with such drugs as Nasonex, NuvaRing, Claritin, Dr. Scholl’s, and Coppertone.

In 1999, Vioxx was approved by the FDA for the treatment of arthritis. It soon became one of the most prescribed drugs in history. In2004, Merck notified the FDA that they were voluntarily removing Vioxx from the market due to findings in a clinical trial. Merck has since been sued and found liable for deceptive marketing practices to promote Vioxx.

Filed Under: Drugs & Medication Tagged With: Schering-Plough, United States

Schering Plough

Schering Plough was formally known as Schering-Plough Corporation. It was an American pharmaceutical company. Schering was founded in 1851 by Ernst Christian Friedrick Schering. The company was based in Germany and called Schering AG. Plough Incorporated was founded in 1908, in Memphis Tennessee, by Abe Plough. In 1971, the Schering Corporation merged with Plough Company to become what we knew as Schering Plough Corporation.

During World War I, the Schering AG subsidiary in the United States was seized, as was all German assets in the United States, and the company became Schering Corporation. In 1952, the company was sold into the private sector. In 1908, Abe Plough founded Plough Incorporated using a small loan from his father. Plough was a business genius and acquired such household brand names as Dr. Scholl’s foot care products, Coppertone, and Maybelline cosmetics. The two companies merged in 1971, and Abe Plough became the head of the conglomerate.

Schering Plough was also known for its research, discovery, and production of animal drugs and vaccines. The company developed Home Again Pet Recovery System which is an advanced pet identification and retrieval system used throughout the world. They also developed Eclipse and Galaxy vaccines, and several high profile drugs used to treat bovine symptoms.

Schering Plough produces many well known drugs to treat humans. The company still produces Dr. Scholl’s and Coppertone. They also produce and manufacture Levitra, NuvaRing, Zetia, and Noxafil. Levitra is co-marketed with Bayer and Glaxosmithkline. On March 9, 2009, Merck (MSD) announced that it was merging with Schering-Plough Corporation in a $41 billion deal. The merger was a reverse merger in which Merck became a subsidiary of Schering-Plough Corporation and Schering-Plough Corporation then renamed itself as Merck & Company. Through this m

Filed Under: Drugs & Medication Tagged With: Merck & Co, Schering-Plough, United States

Pfizer Inc., Number One Pharmaceutical Company in the World

Pfizer Inc. is the number one pharmaceutical company in the world in sales. Pfizer Inc.’s corporate headquarters is located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York. The company’s research headquarters in located in Groton, Connecticut. Pfizer was founded in 1849 in Brooklyn, New York by Charles Pfizer and his cousin, Charles Erhardt. Pfizer Inc. was originally called Charles Pfizer and Company and was launched as a fine chemical company. The company originally produced an antiparasitic drug called santonin, but the company’s success didn’t really take off until they started producing citric acid. The company continued to buy property and expand its factory and lab space. This property was used until 2005 when Pfizer closed its original plant.

World War I caused a shortage of calcium citrate, which was integral in the production of citric acid. Thus, Pfizer Inc., searched for an alternate source. In 1919, Pfizer chemists learned of a fugus that fermented sugar into citric acid. They worked to commercialize this process and used it to make penicillin. Pfizer was a major contributor to penicillin production for the Allied troops in World War II. IN the 1940′s, Pfizer chemists discovered Tetramycin, which was a catalyst to pushing Pfizer in the direction of research based pharmaceutical company from fine chemical company. In the 1980′s and 1990′s, Pfizer had several successful discoveries and launches with such drugs as Zoloft, Lipitor, Aricept, and Zithromax. Pfizer also merged with several other pharmaceutical companies such as Warner Lambert, Pharmacia, and Wyeth. The brand name drugs of these companies were also taken into the Pfizer portfolio and Pfizer is now the number one pharmaceutical company in the world. The company boasts divisions in

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Johnson & Johnson, An American Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Company

Johnson & Johnson is an American pharmaceutical, medical device, and consumer product manufacturer. The company was founded in 1886 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The company’s corporate headquarters are still located in New Brunswick, while its consumer headquarters are located in Skillman, New Jersey. Johnson & Johnson was founded by Robert Wood Johnson, James Wood Johnson, and Edward Mead Johnson, after Robert saw a lecture by Joseph Lister and was inspired to create a line of ready to use surgical dressings. The dressings were mass produced in 1886 and the company was incorporated as Johnson & Johnson in 1887. From the beginnings of the company until the early 1900′s, the company manufactured mainly medical supplies. In the 1920′s, the company branched out into consumer products. In the 1940′s, the company created a separate division for surgical supplies. In the 1970′s and 1980′s, the company branched out into pharmaceuticals with the purchase of McNeil Laboratories, Cilag, and Janssen Pharmaceutica. Johnson & Johnson produces many household names of products such as Aveeno, Benedryl, Listerine, Neosporine, Band-Aid, Motrin, and Pepcid A-C.

Johnson & Johnson hasbeen involved in two major recalls in the past thirty years. In 1982, Johnson & Johnson recalled 31 million bottles of Tylenol after the first death attributed to cyanide laced Tylenol in Chicago. There were seven deaths in all and is attributed to changes in packaging of over the counter drugs and stronger anti-tampering laws. In 2010, McNeil Consumer Healthcare was involved in the recall of 43 over the counter children’s products including Tylenol, Zyrtec, and Benadryl. The recall occurred after an FDA audit of the McNeil facility in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. The audit found that the manufactured products may not meet manufacturers specifications. Further inspections found dirty manufacturing areas, products not containing specified ingredients or containing too much of a specified ingredient, and other similar results. The plant has since been closed by the Federal Drug Administration.

Filed Under: Drugs & Medication Tagged With: Johnson & Johnson, Tylenol

The History of Pharmaceuticals

Did you know they had drug stores during the Middle Ages? Believe it or not the first drug store was opened in 754 A.D. via Arabian pharmacists. Soon after, drug stores spread across the land in medieval Islamic and eventually transferred to Europe. By the 1800’s, many small drug stores located in North America and Europe became large pharmaceutical companies.

The Beginning of Large Pharmaceutical Companies

The majority of today’s pharmaceutical companies began at the end of the 19^th century, beginning of the 20^th century. Important discoveries of insulin and penicillin in the 1920’s and 1930’s put many companies on the map. These two pharmaceuticals were immediately produced in bulk and distributed. Switzerland, Italy and German were the world leaders in pharmaceuticals with the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands following behind.

The Introduction of Legislation

Soon after, legislation was passed that required proper labeling, testing and approval of manufactured drugs. At this point, prescription and over-the-counter drugs were distinguished from one another. As a result of the creation of many systematic scientific approaches, sophisticated manufacturing processes and a new understanding of DNA, the pharmaceutical trade really took off in the 1950’s.

The Pill Comes to Market

A number of drugs were established during this time period including the first pill-based contraceptive known as, “The Pill.” Other important pharmaceuticals produced include, MAO Inhibitors, blood-pressure drugs, heart medications, tranquilizers, Thorazine and Haldol. Valium was developed in 1960 and released to the public three years later. This became the most prescribed drug in history.

Major Breakthroughs

New cancer pharmaceuticals were the important releases of the 1970’s. Legislation in the 1970’s allowed for strong patents to develop for the mass of the drug as well as the production process for creation. The 1980’s saw major breakthroughs for the development of AIDS drugs as well as new legislation. With the introduction of the Internet in the 1990’s, the entire marketing of pharmaceuticals to consumer changed.

Filed Under: Drugs & Medication Tagged With: Pharmaceutical industry, United States

An Overview of Abstral

Recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Abstral is a treatment for pain in patients with cancer who are 18 years and older. This drug is specifically for those who are receiving or have built up a tolerance to opioid analgesics for continuous pain as a result of cancer.

The Guide to Abstral

Abstral manufacturers warn patients not to use the drug if they are frequently using other opioids for cancer-related pain. If children consume Abstral, they need to be immediately taken to a hospital as it can cause an overdose that will result in death for any child that takes it. Also, emergency medical help will be required for adults that ingest the medication but have not been prescribed any doses. Additionally, immediately contact a medical professional for adults who are not taking other opioids around-the-clock and they consume Abstral. All three are life-threatening situations

Other Important Information

Abstral can cause life-threatening problems for those who misuse or ingest the medication accidentally. Therefore, restrain from taking Abstral if you have not built up a tolerance for other opioids. Also, make sure to take the medication as prescribed by a healthcare professional. Furthermore, do not switch between Abstral and other medications containing fentanyl. Additionally, never give or allow anyone the medication if they do not have a prescription. Finally, do not take the drug for short-term pain, such as dental pain, pain following surgery and a headache.

Abstral REMS Program

The treatment is only available through a program entitled, the “Abstral REMS Program” which distributes the medication. To qualify for the drug you must have approval from your healthcare provider, read through and agree to all instructions, sign a Patient-Prescriber agreement and learn and understand the risks and benefits from consuming the drug. Not many patients are permitted to take this drug due to its toxicity. As a result, it will become a hot commodity on the street.

Filed Under: Drugs & Medication Tagged With: Food and Drug Administration, Opioid