Like a Bad Penny, Jim Edwards is Back in the Pharma Blogosphere

"Like a bad penny, I have opened a new drug news blog, titled 'Jim Edwards’ NRx.'"

That's how Jim's email announcement, which all you bloggers out there have probably received, starts out.

You can find Jim's new blog at http://jimedwardsnrx.wordpress.com/

It seems that Jim is simultaneously accepting freelance money from Brandweek--a company he used to work full-time for blogging--and yet claims his blog is "separate" from Brandweek. I think he means that he writes stories freelance for Brandweek and ALSO writes his blog, which is not financed by Brandweek and is independent of Brandweek.

Jim's blog tagline reads "Drug Business Stories the Media Hasn’t Written Yet." That could be interpreted two ways: (1) Jim beats the Media to the punch with important stories, and (2) Jim write stories that are too trivial for the Media. Both are acceptable niches for us bloggers.

Jim says in his email:

"Mainly, the blog will highlight stories that are under-reported or not reported at all. (As such, it is intended as a story idea sheet for media members.) It is not intended as a high traffic news-aggregator blog [Oh no, you dinnit! Look out Pharmalot and WSJ Health Blog!] – I’m looking to make no more than one post a day."

One interesting story Jim blogged about that probably fits interpretation #2 better than #1 is about PhRMA's new code for drug company interactions with physicians. In a July 18, 2008 post to his blog, Jim points out a loop hole that allows drug companies to still serve meals to physicians and be compliant with the code. He discovered this loophole by reading Lilly's press release about the code (see Jim's post: "Eli Lilly Kindly Points Out Loophole in the New Ban on Wining and Dining Docs").

But the MEDIA (ie, Brandweek) carried this story EIGHT days before and the story was written by the FREELANCE Jim (see "Drug Swag Gets Bagged"). So, technically, the Media Jim beat the blogger Jim to the punch! However, I first heard about it through Jim's blog -- I no longer read Brandweek since Jim and Peter Rost left.

Anyway here's the loophole as reported in Brandweek:

The rules also purport the ban on "token" consulting arrangements, in which doctors sign on as paid "consultants" in exchange for promises to write a certain number of prescriptions as part of a post-marketing evaluation. But the rules also say, "It is appropriate for consultants who provide advisory services to be offered reasonable compensation for those services and reimbursement for reasonable travel, lodging and meal expenses incurred as part of providing those services. Any compensation or reimbursement made in conjunction with a consulting arrangement should be reasonable and based on fair market value." Again, that leaves companies with wide latitude for interpretation.

Be Brutal, Says Jim
Jim wants feedback and says "As always, advice and criticism are welcome and encouraged. Go on, be brutal."

OK. Not that this criticism is brutal but I note the title of Jim's blog is, well, not too, how shall I say it, modest or catchy. I only mention this because Jim himself has criticized the title of other blogs like "Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry: A Closer Look," which Jim claims is "badly named." Now, Jim, let's not call the kettle black!

BTW, Jim also has a penchant for personalizing other blogs -- like my blog ("Pharma Marketing Blog") and Peter Rost's blog ("The Pharma Law Blog"). Jim lists these blogs in his blogroll under "John Mack" and "Peter Rost."

Jim, it's an honor for my blog to be listed in your blogroll and thanks for that. However, I am not as famous -- or infamous -- as Peter Rost and I would like links to my blog to include the blog name, Pharma Marketing Blog. Bad name or not, it's the name of my blog.

While you're changing that listing, how about adding Pharma Blogosphere to your blog roll? I am adding yours to mine!

'Round the Sphere: Blame the Victim and Rost the Litigation Consultant

Generally speaking, Peter Rost -- pharma whistleblower, blogger, and author -- needs no help from me to promote Peter Rost. He's the ultimate self-promotional machine!

If you haven't noticed yet, Peter is now hawking his services as a "Litigation Consultant" on his new blog: "Pharma Marketing Expert Witness."

I don't think he intends to be a witness for the defense of the pharmaceutical industry.

You Are to Blame for High Drug Prices!
If you believe Montel Williams, Peter is now part of the reason why drug prices are so high: litigation against the pharma industry.

Recall (see video here) that Montel was asked by an 17-year old Savannah Morning News intern "What do you think is the main cause of the high cost of prescription drugs?" Shortly afterward, Montel threatened to blow up the intern. But he did answer the question:

"We are the most litigious society in the world," said Montel. "Someone takes a vitamin and [they] sue because the vitamin wasn't of the appropriate flavor. That cost is put back on (sic) your pocket. Everyone wants to vilify the pharmaceutical industry. But no one wants to take responsibility for the FACT that over the course of the past thirty years, we've pushed the cost of these drugs up OURSELVES (his emphasis) by suing..." QED!

If you believe that load of horse shit, which BLAMES THE VICTIM, then Peter Rost will now be part of the problem, not the solution!

Doesn't anyone else find it STRANGE that a spokesperson for a program designed to help victims of high drug prices BLAMES these same people for causing the high drug prices?

WTF!

Insider Joins Blogger Call for Dumping Montel

Couple of things:

1. Insider, aka Jack Friday, over at PharmaGossip has joined me in the call for PhRMA to fire Montel Williams (see story in yesterday's post to this blog).


2. If you would like to be added to the roster of pharma bloggers calling for Montel to be fired as PhRMA's celeb Partnership for Prescription Assistance spokesperson, you can leave a comment here or join in a discussion thread I set up over at the Pharma Marketing Network Forums.

Meanwhile, while searching blogs for more Montel posts, I discovered that Montel is looking for UNPAID INTERNS to work for his management and product company (creatively named "Letnom" -- I should have named my blog Kcam; duh!). Regarding Montel's search for an intern, I kid you not! See my post today on Pharma Marketing Blog where I have created an alternative version of the job posting -- one that Montel may have wanted to write himself, but for the sake of political correctness, could not.

P.S. Thanks to Prescription Access Litigation Blog for posting the following video of the question Montel was asked by the young intern. Montel blames the high cost of Rx drugs on our litigious society and tries to stay on message.

'Round the Sphere: Montel's Bomb Blows Up in Blogs!

So far, at least four blogs in the Pharma Blogosphere -- Pharma Marketing Blog, Pharmalot, eDrugSearch Blog, and WSJ Health Blog -- have posted comments about Montel Williams threat to "blow up" a Savannah Morning News high school intern reporter (see the story here, here, here, and here).
Even PhRMA Intern has gotten into the act (see "PhRMA Intern v. Montel: HS Intern is Saved, But...").

Survey Says
Only one blogger -- me, John Mack -- has called for PhRMA to fire Montel.

If unscientific polls on Pharma Marketing Blog and Pharmalot are any indication, the vast majority of our readers agree that Montel should go.

Ed Silverman over at Pharmalot just asked his readers to respond 'yes' or 'no.' So far, 74% voted Yes. Here's my poll, which so far shows 88% favor firing Montel:

Should PhRMA Fire Montel?
	Yes, because I support zero tolerance for this kind of behavior.
	Yes, because he's now a PR liability.
	No, because he has apologized.
	No, because it's no big deal.
	Not sure.

This morning the following editorial appeared in the Savannah Morning News:

Montel Williams, the Bully

Montel Williams was a decorated Navy officer, but he was no gentlemen when he threatened a 17-year-old high school student and Savannah Morning News intern.

TELEVISION PERSONALITY Montel Williams apologized Saturday, and rightly so, for threatening a 17-year-old high school student who had asked him a fair question Friday while she was covering an assignment as a Savannah Morning News intern.

Of course, if Mr. Williams was genuinely contrite about his shameful behavior, he wouldn't have issued an apology Saturday through a spokeswoman for his TV talk show. Instead, he would have apologized personally.

Or sent flowers and a card. That's what a real gentleman would have done.

Intern Courtney Scott, a senior at Jenkins High School, was assigned to cover Mr. Williams, who was in town promoting free prescriptions for poor people. It should have been a tame story. Instead, Mr. Williams got angry when Ms. Scott asked him a question he didn't like. He stormed away.

Then later, when Ms. Scott was at the Westin hotel doing a feature about gingerbread houses, Mr. Williams and his bodyguard walked up to the young student and angrily confronted her.

According to Ms. Scott and two witnesses, Mr. Williams threatened to find and "blow up" the residences of the intern and two reporters with her.

Ms. Scott filed a police report late Saturday, but not because a celebrity acted like a jerk. No one, whether a "big star," as Mr. Williams claimed to be, or a no-name street person, has a right to threaten bodily harm on another.

What's sad is that Ms. Scott was looking forward to interviewing Mr. Williams. Her mother and grandmother are fans and watch his show. Her Navy Junior ROTC commander at Jenkins (Ms. Scott is in J-ROTC) told her he was at the U.S. Naval Academy during the same time as Mr. Williams.

Montel Williams left the Navy as a decorated officer. But he apparently left the gentleman part behind, too. Still, student-intern Scott learned a valuable lesson - how to deal with a bully.

She passed that test, with flying colors.

Those southerners! Send flowers like a real gentleman? Get real!

However, I agree that "No one, whether a "big star," as Mr. Williams claimed to be, or a no-name street person, has a right to threaten bodily harm on another."

At the moment, the spinmeisters are attempting to dismiss the incident by redefining what Montel meant by "blow up." Maybe, some say, he merely meant he would blow up her career. Terra Sigillata asks "Montel Williams' blow-up: a symptom of multiple sclerosis or bad judgment?"

A commenter suggested that the young intern should not have even filed a police report:

"...and a police report? grow up.. if you need a police report over someone's words, you're never gonna make it in society."

That reminds me of a story that many parents out there can relate to.

When my son was ten years old, we got him a cell phone. These days that's what parents do to help keep in touch with their kids and keep them safe.

Well, he and his friends made some prank calls of the "Is your refrigerator running?" variety. But they called another "Mack" family listed in the phone book and left a recording on the answering machine in a squeaky, little boy voice: "We are the dominant Macks!"

Long story, shortened: The other "Macks" were so frightened that they not only called the cops and gave them the recording plus my son's cell phone number, they also moved out of their house and took up residence at a local hotel. The cops even paid us a visit!

If that's how grown up people react to a prank call, then I think it's perfectly reasonable for a high school student to take Montel's threat seriously and report it to the police.

The question is: Will the police interrogate Montel like my town's police interrogated my son? or will the charges be dropped?

As I mentioned in my blog, the threat that Montel made was a terrorist threat that, if made by a high school student in the classroom, would instantly cause that student to be expelled or worse!

If PhRMA stands behind "bully" celebrities who think they are above the law or who do not know how to behave in front of children, then I think pharmaceutical employees -- and I mean some of the people reading this -- should encourage their companies to force PhRMA to fire Montel.