The killer drug
Sometimes it takes a few deaths for people to wake up. That appears to be the case with Fentora, the powerful narcotic manufactured by Cephalon. Four deaths have now been linked to Fentora, deaths that are all the more troubling because they appear to be from off-label use of the drug.
I'm not surprised.
Cephalon has long been accused of aggressive detailing of powerful pain meds, with Actiq the leading example. Now the company is in damage-control mode, scrambling to redo label warnings and 'warn' physicians to avoid prescribing Fentora for anything other than FDA-approved conditions.
If you're looking for a definition of hypocrisy, this is it. Despite Cephalon's PR campaign to the contrary, the company has long been accused of aggressive detailing, including efforts to encourage off-label prescribing of Actiq. The company is currently under investigation by a Congressional committee for allegedly encouraging docs to prescribe Actiq (which is closely related to Fentora) for conditions such as migraine and back pain.
What does this mean for you?
I'm wondering if payers have any liability if they approved the off-label use of Fentora for patients who subsequently died. I sincerely hope not.