This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Drug Therapy, Other  • Patient Safety/ Medical Error  • Adverse Effects  • Alert me on articles by topic

Geoffrey M. Anderson, MD, PhD; David Juurlink, MD, PhD; Allan S. Detsky, MD, PhD

JAMA. 2008;299(13):1598-1600.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers are in business to make money, and they make money by bringing new products to market. This statement is not a value judgment; it is a simple fact. Profits are a stimulus for innovation in the pharmaceutical industry, and innovation is the basis of progress and improvement in health care.

The most profitable products for these companies are "blockbuster" drugs, which are commonly defined as drugs that generate more than $1 billion in revenue annually. Selective inhibitors of cyclooxygenase type 2 ("coxibs") and atypical antipsychotics are 2 examples of drug classes that produced blockbuster sales. Recent controversies around both drug classes highlight some of the difficulties inherent in balancing the promise of innovation and improved care against real-world safety and effectiveness. Much has been made about the need for reform of regulatory agencies to . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Early Postmarket Dynamic: Hope and Prosperity

Author Affiliations: Departments of Health Policy Management and Evaluation (Drs Anderson, Juurlink, and Detsky) and Medicine (Drs Juurlink and Detsky), University of Toronto; and Departments of Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Dr Juurlink), Mount Sinai Hospital, and University Health Network (Dr Detsky), Toronto, Ontario, Canada.