Science Policy Around the Web – February 22, 2012

By: Rebecca Cerio

Our weekly linkpost, bringing you interesting and informative links on science policy issues buzzing about the internet.

To Ease Shortage, F.D.A. Lets 2 Cancer Drugs Be Imported –   Tight economic times are encouraging even tighter delivery and production margins, as well as fewer US companies making generic drugs.  One factory shut-down can be catastrophic for the US supply of vital medications.  This issue branches into several areas, including the US stance on importing drugs from other countries, the budget troubles of the FDA, and the harsh realities that crop up when drug-making is a profit-driven business. (by Gardiner Harris via the New York Times)

Occupy Science? - ”…some citizen science projects, [...] stand or fall on the strength of the social networks that underlie them.  Though far from perfect, these projects begin to sketch the outlines of an altered social contract between science and society—one that is open, participatory, and dependent on the collective energy of the community.”  Well-said.  (by Krishanu Saha and J. Benjamin Hurlbut via The Scientist online)

Celebrities Pushing Drugs? –  ”These ads don’t just sell us products. They sell us ways to think about disease.” An interesting piece on the psychology of having celebrity spokespeople for pharmaceutical brands.  Opinionated, but an interesting take on the issue.  What do you think?  (by Howard Brody via The Scientist online)

Have an interesting science policy link to share?  Let us know in the comments!

Science Policy Around the Web – October 26, 2011

Our weekly linkpost, bringing you interesting and informative links on science policy issues buzzing about the internet.

Panel Endorses HPV Vaccine for Boys of 11 – Boys and young men should be vaccinated against human papillomavirus, or HPV, to protect against anal and throat cancers that can result from sexual activity, a federal advisory committee said Tuesday. The recommendation by the panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is likely to transform the use of the HPV vaccine, since most private insurers pay for vaccines once the committee recommends them for routine use. The HPV vaccine is unusually expensive. Its three doses cost pediatricians more than $300, and pediatricians often charge patients hundreds more. (via New York Times, by Gardiner Harris)

Cancer Care’s “Culture of Excess” – Most developed countries spend 4-7% of their total healthcare budgets on cancer.  A new report in The Lancet Oncology by oncologists and patient advocates has given a sobering list of insights into the factors for these billowing costs.  Top among them:  we’re getting older, there’s more technology available and we’re (over)using it, and the current health care pricing models don’t help.  (from PLoS Blogs by Jessica Wapner)

OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Senators weigh Keystone pipeline strategy – Senators battling the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline are mulling their options as the Obama administration’s decision on the controversial project looms. Critics of the proposed $7 billion, 1,700-mile pipeline say the State Department’s favorable environmental analysis was flawed, and that the review lacked integrity because it was performed by a company with financial ties to pipeline developer TransCanada. (via E2 Wire – THE HILL’s Energy and Environment Blog, by Ben Geman and Andrew Restuccia )

 Have an interesting link to share?  Drop us a comment!