Drug Truths: Dispelling the Myths About Pharma R & D

by John L. LaMattina

This book answers the questions about the process and costs of pharmaceutical R & D in a compelling narrative focused on the discovery and development of important new medicines. It gives an insider's account of the pharmaceutical industry drug discovery process, the very real costs of misperceptions about the industry, the high stakes--both economic and scientific--of developing drugs, the triumphs that come when new compounds reach the market and save lives, and the despair that follows when new compounds fail. In the book, John LaMattina, former president of Pfizer Global Research and Development, weaves themes critical to a vital drug discovery environment in the context. This is a story that Dr. LaMattina is uniquely qualified to tell.

Genres: Medicine

156 pages, Paperback

First published November 3, 2008

Reviews

[Anton Yang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accurate explanation of some of the common misconceptions of the pharmaceutical industry. However, I was hoping the author would also shed a light upon the few scandals (e.g. the scandal around Vioxx of Merck) that has heavily discredited the pharmaceutical industry for the general public. The author did an excellent job in describing the many, often overlooked, positives about the industry, which probably was the main goal of this book. But because of the missing negatives, the book feels a bit biased and incomplete. Thus, I think that the target audience might not be completely convinced after reading this book (although I highly doubt that a large group of them would even be willing to discuss their thoughts on Big Pharma with an open mind).

[Jason Troutner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Every chapter presents a new straw man fallacy. The book serves as a valuable insight into how pharmaceutical executives personally comprehend these controversial topics, but does little to contribute to an intelligent discussion about these topics.

[Sebastian · Rating 3 out of 5]

To me the author appears competent and makes good points. Thats why i dislike the fact that most claims are backed up with only one or two example drugs. I would have preferred more thorough argumentation, even if that came at the cost of shortening the book down into a long research paper.

[Vladimir · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book maybe too optimistic, but he got all points very right. The mass media pressure is going very high in recent years without good understanding of the problem by journalists.

[Steve Whiting · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent balanced view of the pharma industry from the former head of Pfizer R&D, presented warts and all.

It would be wonderful to think that the uninformed detractors of the industry could read this with an open mind and see the reality of working in pharma R&D... but I'm not holding my breath for them to do so.

[Peadar9 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a surprisingly easy to read and entertaining book. Although the author has an axe to grind, it is an entertaining trip through some of the great sucesses and failure of pharma/biotech trials mostly in 90's and 00's.
And it's only $20.