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Managing Double Binds in the Pharmaceutical Prescription Market: The Case of Halcion

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Ways of Regulating Drugs in the 19th and 20th Centuries

Part of the book series: Science, Technology and Medicine in Modern History ((STMMH))

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Abstract

The epidemic of serious drug safety problems (e.g., Seroxat/Paxil [paroxetine], Vioxx [rofecoxib], Redux [dexfenfluramide] or Ambien [zolpidem]) in the first decade of the twenty-first century has led to public debate on the integrity of the pharmaceutical industry and the effectiveness of drug regulation (Healy, 2004; Moynihan & Cassels, 2005; Anonymous, 2005; Committee on the assessment of the US drug safety system, 2006; Pray, 2007).1 To improve drug surveillance practices and governance, the various parties participating in the debates proposed a wide variety of changes for processes of international drug development and drug approval. The proposals included the reduction or extension of the patent protection period, abolition of drug patents, strengthening the independence and transparency of regulatory agencies, and incentives for drug development in high-need, high-risk disease areas. But the majority of these proposals failed to address the historical dynamics underlying drug development and use. Employing a historical perspective is a prerequisite to further our understanding of the process of the societal embedding of drugs and the role played by societal concerns and cultural context. Drug trajectories can serve as analytical tool to study the changing scientific, political, and social economies of the prescription drug markets (Pieters, 2005: 3–5; Gaudilliere, 2005; Levy & Garnier, 2007).

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Authors
  1. Toine Pieters
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  2. Stephen Snelders
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. CERMES3, CNRS, Paris, France

    Jean-Paul Gaudillière (Director) (Director)

  2. Institute for the History of Medicine, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Germany

    Volker Hess (Chair) (Chair)

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© 2013 Toine Pieters and Stephen Snelders

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Pieters, T., Snelders, S. (2013). Managing Double Binds in the Pharmaceutical Prescription Market: The Case of Halcion. In: Gaudillière, JP., Hess, V. (eds) Ways of Regulating Drugs in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Science, Technology and Medicine in Modern History. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137291523_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137291523_12

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-33742-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-29152-3

  • eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)

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