But by banning off-label drug speech, doctors have fewer chances to become aware of these applications.
FORBES: Governor Rick Perry Puts "Off-label" Medical Therapy on Stage
The FDA gives doctors that discretion as long as the off-label use seems reasonable.
There had been an expectation that the agency might try to limit off-label use.
Other drugs marketed off-label, including Natrecor and Invega, also reportedly are included in the settlement.
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That could make it easier for doctors to get data about so-called off-label uses for a drug.
Off-label use usually gets talked about when companies find way to encourage doctors to prescribe medicines inappropriately.
In the marketing of Xyrem, Orphan Medical pushed off-label uses for which there was no scientific support.
FORBES: Off-Label Pharma Prosecutions Won't Be Silenced By First Amendment Decision
Temodar is being used off-label to treat newly diagnosed patients, and extends the survival rate by eight weeks.
Every injury caused by an inappropriate off-label Rx was written by a physician, not by a sales rep.
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This ban on off-label communication is an offense to both American patients and American notions of free speech.
FORBES: Governor Rick Perry Puts "Off-label" Medical Therapy on Stage
Pfizer has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in fines for its off-label marketing of the drug.
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And the review gives Medicare plenty of ammunition not to pay for off-label, or unapproved, uses of Provenge.
Prescribers could also be given advice on prescribing medicines that are not licensed for children - so-called "off-label" prescribing.
In 2008, the latest year studied, researchers found such "off-label" uses accounted for 97% of orders for the drug.
Texas Governor Rick Perry is the latest beneficiary of so-called off-label medical therapy.
FORBES: Governor Rick Perry Puts "Off-label" Medical Therapy on Stage
It says there is no evidence supporting the drug in off-label uses, such as in sicker or healthier patients.
Companies spent billions more to settle allegations of off-label promotion with the government.
Dr. Yank and her colleagues used a database of hospitalizations to estimate national patterns of off-label use of the drug.
For instance, most use of Celgene 's (nadsaq: CELG - news - people ) Thalomid is off-label.
The tactic worked, the plaintiffs said, with Aetna paying for 43 million off-label doses of the drug between 1995 and 2004.
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It will be interesting to see if online clinical-trial registries provide another way of getting data about off-label uses to doctors.
Making that statement may be important to Medicare because the agency does traditionally pay for some off-label uses of cancer drugs.
But the NCD also contained a specific provision that prevented reimbursement for off-label uses unless patients were enrolled in clinical trials.
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Punishing the off-label use of cognitive enhancers may also be unfair to those who find these drugs medically useful in unexpected ways.
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Caronia is game-changing if it becomes prevailing law because, for decades, the prohibition on off-label speech shaped how pharmaceutical companies did business.
And some docs prescribe Zytiga off-label for patients who cannot tolerate chemo.
Would similar off-label use happen if Revimid were approved for another disease?
Off-label marketing has been an increasingly important issue in the drug industry.
But off-label use is becoming increasingly common even where diseases aren't lethal.
Even worse, companies and their executives can be criminally prosecuted when marketing representatives or other personnel blatantly violate company policies on off-label speech.
FORBES: Governor Rick Perry Puts "Off-label" Medical Therapy on Stage
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