DEADLY PRESCRIPTION
Debut novel by Dr. Robert Marx draws from his real life battle
with Big Pharma over the sale of dangerous prescription medicines
Renowned surgeon, researcher, and award-winning medical writer Dr. Robert Marx has transformed his real life battle to expose Big Pharma’s deceptive labeling practices into a page-turning suspense novel, Deadly Prescription, which gives readers an inside look at the alarming level of fraud and corruption that currently exists in many of America’s giant drug companies.
“After years of surgically treating patients harmed by certain prescription medicines, I decided to write an exposé about how drug manufacturers routinely cover up evidence of the dangerous side effects caused by their products. However, a medical colleague of mine who was an established writer suggested I could reach a larger audience if I developed a fictional novel around the subject matter,” says Dr. Marx, professor of surgery and chief of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “This is why I’ve presented the information as ‘a work of fiction’ which I hope readers will find eye-opening, educational, and entertaining.”
Dr. Marx was the first researcher to link the use of a popular anti-osteoporosis medication manufactured by the Merck Company (Fosamax, 3.6 billion annual sales) with the death of bone tissue in the jaw. He testified as an expert witness in court cases against Merck and the drug maker Novartis, who manufactured a chemically similar drug. His two textbooks on the subject guiding his colleagues on how to recognize and treat this malady have been best sellers. His textbook on oral and maxillofacial pathology first described this condition and won the Medical Writers’ Book of the Year Award in 2002.
“Hopefully readers of Deadly Prescription will be brought to the realization that the drugs we are given by our doctors may not be completely researched because of a serious flaw in the way the FDA reviews and approves drugs,” says Dr. Marx.
Dr. Marx recommends that patients who are prescribed any type of medication ask their doctor for the complete product hand out and take the time to read about the listed side effects.
“Be proactive and search out information about the drug on the Internet or log into Pub Med and be sure you understand the side effects,” says Dr. Marx. “Be especially cautious in the case of a newly-approved drug, because the side effects won’t appear in the first one or two years; they’ll appear later on. If Vioxx or Fosamax would have been reviewed 5 years after their initial approval, they may not have been re-approved for continued sales and much pain and suffering could have been spared.”
SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:
1. You are an “oral and maxillofacial” surgeon. Can you please define what a “maxillofacial” surgeon is?
2. How did you discover the link between Merck’s anti-osteoporosis drug, Fosamax, and the decay of jaw bone tissue occurring in your patients?
3. What was the pharmaceutical industry’s reaction when you began publishing your findings?
4. The Merck Company not only produced the drug Fosamax, which you fought to expose, but they also produced Vioxx, a pain medication which caused an estimated 139,000 heart attacks in the US. Merck also produced and marketed Gardasil, which according to recent statements by
Dr. Diane Harper, its key developer, is both ineffective and dangerous. How do you explain Merck’s continuing history of deceptive marketing and distribution of dangerous drugs in the marketplace?
5. Why did you decide to write your book, Deadly Prescription, as a fiction novel?
6. Without giving away too much, give us a short summary of book’s plot.
7. After whom were the book’s main characters modeled?
8. Does the book contain any of the actual courtroom dialogue that went on between you and drug company attorneys during their trial?
9. Given Big Pharma’s unethical marketing practices, what is your recommendation for consumers regarding taking prescription medications?
10. Where is your book available?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robert E. Marx, DDS, professor of surgery and chief of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, is well known as an educator,
researcher, and innovative surgeon.
He has pioneered new concepts and treatments for pathologies of the oral and maxillofacial area as well as new techniques in reconstructive surgery.
As a researcher, he has made valuable contributions in the use of hyperbaric oxygen following radiation therapy, in the development of platelet rich plasma, and in elucidating the relationships between smoking and carcinogenesis.
Dr. Marx also pioneered the clinical applications of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein and stem cell use and was the first to identify what is now known worldwide as bisphosphonate-induced osteonecrosis of the jaws.
For the past 34 years, he has overseen the training of scores of residents and fellows, many of whom have established their own distinguished careers.
His many prestigious awards include the Harry S. Archer Award, the William J. Gies Award, the Paul Bert Award, and the Donald B. Osbon Award, attest to his dedication and commitment to the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery.
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