Follow the money

It’s Enbrel time again!

Remember Enbrel? Last January I told you about two large clinical trials designed to determine if Enbrel (a very expensive rheumatoid arthritis drug) would prove to be effective in treating congestive heart failure (CHF). Those two studies were abruptly shut down when it became clear that Enbrel use was causing CHF symptoms to worsen. Oops! Never mind.

That sort of bad news would be a crippling disaster for some businesses – but not for Amgen Inc. (the maker of Enbrel), reputed to be the largest biotechnology company in the world. Because just 3 months later Amgen announced the results of a “pivotal-stage” trial, concluding that Enbrel is now an effective treatment for mild-to-severe psoriasis.

But if you’re one of the more than 4 million Americans who suffer from psoriasis, don’t put Enbrel on your shopping list just yet. But don’t despair either. Because I have some promising information about a psoriasis treatment that’s far less expensive, more effective, and worlds safer for you than Enbrel.

Ka CHING!

Enbrel (the brand name for etenercept) was approved by the FDA in 1998 to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Taken by injection (self-administered by the patient), the drug’s label warns that “allergic reactions to Enbrel are not uncommon.” So just remove the double-negative and that easily translates to “allergic reactions to Enbrel are common.”

And the list of known reactions is formidable: swelling in the deep layers of the skin, hives, septic shock, and a host of nervous system disorders, including: nerve damage, seizures, inflammation of the nerves in the eyes, and even multiple sclerosis.

So given that Enbrel comes loaded with potential side effects, is difficult to administer, and costs more for one month’s worth of injections than I paid for my first car ($1,400!), why would Amgen take this arthritis drug and try to prove it can also treat psoriasis?

Two reasons. First: because they can. As I’ve mentioned in previous e-Alerts (“The Whistle Blower” 6/6/03), a drug that is FDA approved to treat, for instance, Disease X, might also be effective in treating the symptoms of Diseases A and B and C. So in addition to funding clinical trials (that will hopefully lead to an FDA stamp of approval to treat A, B and C), it’s very common for drug companies to encourage doctors to prescribe their drug to treat symptoms for which it’s not approved. And while the methods of drug salespeople may be suspect, this practice among doctors is perfectly legal.

And of course you know the second reason already: Money. Lots of money. Enough to run a small nation.

According to CNN Money, some industry gurus estimate that an effective psoriasis drug could open up a market worth $5 billion per year. In comparison, Enbrel grossed a paltry $907 million in 2001 – an increase of almost 18 percent over the previous year, but nowhere near $5 billion.

Skin deep

Psoriasis is a condition in which skin cells multiply too rapidly, resulting in unsightly, itchy rashes. Severe cases can be extremely painful and debilitating. Complicating matters is the fact that psoriasis is still poorly understood, has no certain cause, and is considered by conventional medicine to be “incurable.” For years, the only mainstream treatment for psoriasis was methotrexate, an immunosuppressant drug that can damage the heart and liver with long-term use.

In a Members Alert we sent you in December 1999, we told you about a treatment that has had great success with thousands of psoriasis patients – an extract of mahonia aquifolium (also known as the Oregon grape). In 1995, researchers in 89 dermatology practices throughout Germany put mahonia aquifolium to the test, using 433 patients who suffered from chronic psoriasis. Over the course of 12 weeks, the dermatologists reported that symptoms improved or completely disappeared in 81 percent of the patients.

Further biochemical research has isolated several active alkaloids from the bark of the Oregon grape that appear to be responsible for the beneficial functions that help fight psoriasis, including: inhibition of abnormal proliferation of skin cells, reduction of inflammation and histamine release, and strong antibacterial and antifungal properties.

The alternative

There are a number of products based on mahonia aquifolium, marketed under the brand name of M-Folia. Most useful for psoriasis suffers are the cream and ointment preparations. Both contain the same strength of mahonia aquifolium (10 percent extract). Other M-Folia products include shampoo, sunscreen, and bath oil, which can provide relief from eczema as well as psoriasis. For more information, see the article titled “Incurable No Longer” in the December 1999 Members Alert. http://www.hsionline.com/misc/hsi_9912_b.shtml

If someone you care about has psoriasis, I hope you’ll forward this e-Alert to them. Let them know that there is a proven, natural alternative to absurdly high priced pharmaceutical treatments of questionable safety.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute

Sources:
“Amgen’s Enbrel Helps Psoriasis” CNN Money, 3/21/03, money.cnn.com
“Enbrel” DrugIntel, drugintel.com