Pfizer Corp. announced today that Viagra will soon be available in
liquid form, and will be marketed by Pepsi Cola as a power beverage
suitable for use as a mixer. It will now be possible for a man to
literally pour himself a stiff one.  Obviously we can no longer call
this a soft drink, and it gives new meaning to the names of “cocktails”,
“highballs” and just a good old-fashioned “stiff drink”. Pepsi will
market the new concoction by the name of:    MOUNT & DO.

That’s right.  According to a post on KevinMD.com, the ban on pharma gifts to physicians in some states has contributed to some being carded for admittance to CME dinners and other events.  See full post here.

PharmaGossip, originally a “bad boy” blogger and more recently twitterer, has taken advantage of a Google application called “SideWiki” to post blistering remarks on pharma websites all over the internet.  While there has been some discussion amongst individuals working social media in the pharma industry about potential problems with the sidewiki application, it appears that no one was quite prepared for the behavior exemplified by PharmaGossip. 

Sidewiki, a browser sidebar that lets you contribute and read information alongside any web page, has been raising concerns amongst many in the pharma industry due to concerns that postings could potentially be made that might technically violate federal regulations including restrictions on off-label promotion, adverse event reporting, or just plain bad-mouthing by any disgruntled individual.  Of course, malcontents have always had the ability to post jeering remarks on the internet (such as in blogs, discussion forums, etc.)  What’s particularly insidious about this new application is that comments posted become effectively attached to the maligned party’s site itself.

Here is a sampling of postings made by PharmaGossip:

The blog Pharmalot, written by Ed Silverman, is coming out of retirement.  Pharmalot, a blog generally geared towards reporting of activities in the pharma/ healthcare industries, had raised the ire of some readers in response to a  piece: “A Soap Opera: Pharmaceuticals Is An Ugly Business,” posted on March 15, 2008.

As one reader wrote:

“This soap-opera thing and the Pharmagossip have no place in serious journalism. Shame on you, Pharmalot, for propagating such trash.”

As for Ed Silverman, he appears well-rested and ready to get back in the saddle.  Ed was recently overheard telling a colleague that he was inspired by Michael Jackson’s recent attempt at making a comeback right before his unexpected demise.

See: Pharmalot No Camelot According to Readers

Nigerian officials have apparently lost the list of victims to be compensated under Pfizer’s $75 million settlement with the Kano State government following the Trovan meningitis trials in that country.  The money was to be paid by Oct. 15, but the process has now been stretched out further, according to BNET.

Locals in the area reported seeing a physician from Delaware at about the time the document went missing.  Officials were unable to locate the doctor for questioning as he reportedly had fled the scene in his helicopter prior to their arrival.  Anyone having any details regarding the physician or missing document are asked to contact the Nigerian government.

You may be wondering what happened to MyPharmaNote.com?  MPN was an attempt at providing a Digg-like service devoted solely to pharma.  While we think the idea was a good one and the site did receive a fair amount of traffic- the site was taken down.  Maintenance of the site required a substantial amount of resources, being based on an open-source platform and the ultimate killer was a devestating hacker attack (the entire site database was wiped out).

Easy come- easy go.

So, the economy is in the gutter.  Jobs are being cut by the thousands.  Your employer is treating you like crap.  Feeling down?  You’re not alone.

But hey, look on the bright side, you now have a place online where you can share the doom and gloom with others!

JobSchmob.com offers an opportunity to unload your stories of employment woe while remaining anonymous.

The New York Times revealed that an influential psychiatrist who was the host of the popular public radio program “The Infinite Mind,” produced by Lichtenstein Creative Media, earned at least $1.3 million from 2000 to 2007 giving marketing lectures for drugmakers, income not mentioned on the program.

The psychiatrist and radio host, Dr. Frederick K. Goodwin, is another in a series of doctors and researchers whose ties to drugmakers have been uncovered by Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, according to the Times.

Who will be next?