That's the picture from newly released data from IMS Health (nyse: RX - news - people ), a pharmaceutical information and consulting company that independently keeps track of how often medicines are prescribed and how much revenue they are generating.
Moreover, the Japanese government forbids pharmaceutical companies to give information on the contraceptive use of the pill, so most of the women who take it have little knowledge of the risks and benefits.
New Delhi, which runs a wide trade deficit with Beijing, wants better access to China for its information technology and pharmaceutical products.
WSJ: Border Dispute Overshadows Chinese Premier Li's Visit to India
The report said that the industries facing the most threat included information technology and the pharmaceutical sector.
"This study provided valuable information on ancient medical and pharmaceutical practices and on the development of pharmacology and medicine over the centuries, " the researchers said.
In a report published earlier this year, it suggested the pharmaceutical industry is incapable of providing impartial information on its medicines and that such information should only come from independent sources.
Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are often promiscuous with their corporate information as well, says John Quinn, managing director of Quinn International in Great Falls, Va.
As regards the dissemination of information about new drugs and devices, pharmaceutical companies are subject to increasingly stringent rules on the types of promotional practices that they can use to market their new products.
FORBES: Causing More Harm than Good: Conflict-of-Interest Rules Thwart Medical Progress
Congress should clarify that AHRQ may disclose which doctors they are approaching and require the reporting of this information both to FDA and to the public, just as pharmaceutical companies must.
FORBES: A Lack of Government Transparency: The Devil In The Detailing
The pharmaceutical industry has long worried about security in this area, given how much secret corporate information is shared with employees at the agency.
"But MEPs were concerned that it was a foot in the door for pharmaceutical companies to promote their products through newspapers and magazines and would not lead to better information for consumers but confusion, " he told BBC News Online.
Whether it is the pharmaceutical industry where I work, aerospace companies or even the food industry, all own private information that could be of significant value and potentially accessible for those who know how.
应用推荐