Octopus Overlords

hepcat wrote: Mon Jul 24, 2023 6:57 pm That’s surprising to me. I always thought the chemical composition of a generic version of a drug was the exact same as the name brand.

A biosimilar (also known as follow-on biologic or subsequent entry biologic) is a biologic medical product that is almost an identical copy of an original product that is manufactured by a different company. Biosimilars are officially approved versions of original "innovator" products and can be manufactured when the original product's patent expires. Reference to the innovator product is an integral component of the approval.

Unlike with generic drugs of the more common small-molecule type, biologics generally exhibit high molecular complexity and may be quite sensitive to changes in manufacturing processes. Despite that heterogeneity, all biopharmaceuticals, including biosimilars, must maintain consistent quality and clinical performance throughout their lifecycle.

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Jul 24, 2023 11:47 pm There was a pretty big issue with the generic maker of Wellbutrin, and a lawsuit, etc, if I am not mistaken. Maybe Teva?

Apparently it was years ago, but interesingly, or sadly maybe, I have taken both the brand name Wellbutrin and a generic (this was about a year ago I guess), and the generic immediately (like within less than 24h IIRC) gave me measurable heart palpitations, making my Apple Watch go nuts. I had also previously taken the brand name for more than a year and did not once have that effect. My wife also tried the generic Wellbutrin and had similar palpitations.

Note that it took me months to narrow down that it was the generic Wellbutrin causing the issue...I blamed everything else at first (as did my dr). and he had the balls/lack of knowledge to state that he had never heard of such an issue. It took me about 5m of googling when I started to suspect it was the generic Wellbutrin.

Too bad, because it was a great drug IMO. Probably the only thing I've tried (of many) that had a noticeable effect on my ADHD.

LordMortis wrote: Tue Jul 25, 2023 6:50 am

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Jul 24, 2023 11:47 pm There was a pretty big issue with the generic maker of Wellbutrin, and a lawsuit, etc, if I am not mistaken. Maybe Teva?

Apparently it was years ago, but interesingly, or sadly maybe, I have taken both the brand name Wellbutrin and a generic (this was about a year ago I guess), and the generic immediately (like within less than 24h IIRC) gave me measurable heart palpitations, making my Apple Watch go nuts. I had also previously taken the brand name for more than a year and did not once have that effect. My wife also tried the generic Wellbutrin and had similar palpitations.

Note that it took me months to narrow down that it was the generic Wellbutrin causing the issue...I blamed everything else at first (as did my dr). and he had the balls/lack of knowledge to state that he had never heard of such an issue. It took me about 5m of googling when I started to suspect it was the generic Wellbutrin.

Too bad, because it was a great drug IMO. Probably the only thing I've tried (of many) that had a noticeable effect on my ADHD.

Two weeks on a generic wellbuturin gave me first ever panic attack and it endured for a chunk of weekend. You don't want one of those. Crazy paranoia. Tunnelvision. Can't stop moving. Heart and breathing rate won't slow. I'd rather die than live like what I was going through. I then went through withdraw, for three months, refusing to touch an SSRI ever since. I can't say if it was the generic or the wellbutrin but never again. My trust for head meds and willingness to switch coctails every three months until we find what works, and never worked for anything better for me, went to nearly 0 at that point. We eventually settled on an uppper, Modafinil, that I took until it gave me TMJ. Then I finally just quit working.

hepcat wrote: Mon Jul 24, 2023 6:57 pm That’s surprising to me. I always thought the chemical composition of a generic version of a drug was the exact same as the name brand.

Max Peck wrote: Mon Jul 24, 2023 9:46 pm The Ontario provincial government recently passed new regulations that mandate the use of biosimilar drugs for patients whose prescriptions are covered by provincial health care. Because why provide poor people with effective drugs when there are profits to be made in providing the cheapest drugs they can get.

Max Peck wrote: Tue Jul 25, 2023 10:25 am I'd characterize them as populist "conservative". Ford has more than a whiff of Trump about him, but he inherited political connections along with wealth.

Joy Alonzo, a respected opioid expert, was in a panic.

The Texas A&M University professor had just returned home from giving a routine lecture on the opioid crisis at the University of Texas Medical Branch when she learned a student had accused her of disparaging Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick during the talk.

In the few hours it took to drive from Galveston, the complaint had made its way to her supervisors, and Alonzo’s job was suddenly at risk.

“I am in a ton of trouble. Please call me!” she wrote to Chandler Self, the UTMB professor who invited her to speak.

,,,

Alonzo was right to be afraid. Not only were her supervisors involved, but so was Chancellor John Sharp, a former state comptroller who now holds the highest-ranking position in the Texas A&M University System, which includes 11 public universities and 153,000 students. And Sharp was communicating directly with the lieutenant governor’s office about the incident, promising swift action.

Less than two hours after the lecture ended, Patrick’s chief of staff had sent Sharp a link to Alonzo’s professional bio.

Shortly after, Sharp sent a text directly to the lieutenant governor: “Joy Alonzo has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation re firing her. shud [sic] be finished by end of week.”

The text message was signed “jsharp.”

For free speech advocates, health experts and students, Texas A&M’s investigation of Alonzo was a shocking demonstration of how quickly university leaders allow politicians to interfere in classroom discussions on topics in which they are not experts — and another example of increasing political involvement from state leaders in how Texas universities are managed.

The revelation comes as Texas A&M is reeling over concerns that the university allowed politically motivated outsiders to derail the hiring of Kathleen McElroy, a Black journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin, to revive the journalism school at Texas A&M. The subsequent outcry over how Texas A&M handled the situation prompted the university president to resign last week, and the interim dean of arts and sciences stepped down from that role but will remain a professor.

...

A few hours after Texas A&M started looking into the complaint, course leaders at UTMB sent an email to students in the class saying Alonzo’s comments “about Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and his role in the opioid crisis” did not represent the opinion of the university.

The email also included a “formal censure” of Alonzo, although it did not specify what she said that was offensive.

Neither UTMB nor Texas A&M would confirm what Alonzo said that prompted such a reaction, and UTMB students interviewed by the Tribune recalled a vague reference to Patrick’s office but nothing specific.

...

Alonzo has spent more than two decades as a pharmacist in Japan, Missouri and elsewhere, and has taught college students in Texas for more than a decade. She now teaches at Texas A&M while working as an ambulatory care pharmacy director at a free health clinic in Bryan.

She has helped bring millions of federal research dollars to the university, and last year Texas A&M’s pharmacy school named her the early career researcher of the year.

Carpet_pissr wrote: Tue Jul 25, 2023 8:44 am

LordMortis wrote: Tue Jul 25, 2023 6:50 am

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Jul 24, 2023 11:47 pm There was a pretty big issue with the generic maker of Wellbutrin, and a lawsuit, etc, if I am not mistaken. Maybe Teva?

Apparently it was years ago, but interesingly, or sadly maybe, I have taken both the brand name Wellbutrin and a generic (this was about a year ago I guess), and the generic immediately (like within less than 24h IIRC) gave me measurable heart palpitations, making my Apple Watch go nuts. I had also previously taken the brand name for more than a year and did not once have that effect. My wife also tried the generic Wellbutrin and had similar palpitations.

Note that it took me months to narrow down that it was the generic Wellbutrin causing the issue...I blamed everything else at first (as did my dr). and he had the balls/lack of knowledge to state that he had never heard of such an issue. It took me about 5m of googling when I started to suspect it was the generic Wellbutrin.

Too bad, because it was a great drug IMO. Probably the only thing I've tried (of many) that had a noticeable effect on my ADHD.

Two weeks on a generic wellbuturin gave me first ever panic attack and it endured for a chunk of weekend. You don't want one of those. Crazy paranoia. Tunnelvision. Can't stop moving. Heart and breathing rate won't slow. I'd rather die than live like what I was going through. I then went through withdraw, for three months, refusing to touch an SSRI ever since. I can't say if it was the generic or the wellbutrin but never again. My trust for head meds and willingness to switch coctails every three months until we find what works, and never worked for anything better for me, went to nearly 0 at that point. We eventually settled on an uppper, Modafinil, that I took until it gave me TMJ. Then I finally just quit working.

What did the Dr. say to that reaction? So curious. Also, I'm here to tell you that the OG Wellbutrin (if they still even make it), was the shiznit. Knock-off, Kmart versions can kiss my ballsack.

Holman wrote: Wed Jul 26, 2023 2:07 pm https://twitter.com/frankthorp/status/1 ... 38405?s=20

Did Mitch McConnell just have a stroke?

Serious question. Something neurological seems to have occurred.

A few minutes later, McConnell walked back to the news conference by himself. When asked about his health, he said he was fine. Asked whether he is fully able to do his job, McConnell said, "Yeah."

Asked about the episode, a McConnell aide pointed to the GOP leader saying, “I’m fine,” but the aide added that McConnell “felt lightheaded and stepped away for a moment."

"He came back to handle Q and A, which as everyone observed was sharp," the aide said.

Unagi wrote: Wed Jul 26, 2023 2:56 pm I hope he leaves politics.

Unagi wrote: Wed Jul 26, 2023 3:14 pm So I have a theory that what we just watched was Sam Beckett entering Mitch McConnell's body.

malchior wrote: Wed Jul 26, 2023 5:15 pm Isn't it wonderful to have a caste of leaders who are willing to sacrifice so much. I mean they are willing to die on their feet at work for us. They clearly don't want to impose the burden of responsibility on their now past middle age children. Luckily they've done a superb job so far. /s

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., mistakenly started reading a statement during a routine vote Thursday − another awkward moment at the Capitol that has fueled questions about whether the 90-year-old lawmaker is in decline.

During a Senate Appropriations Committee markup, Feinstein was supposed to cast her vote on a Defense funding bill, saying either “aye” or “nay” after her name was called. Feinstein was prompted multiple times to vote, but she started reading prepared remarks supporting the legislation.

An aide went to the Feinstein's side to guide her to vote, and shortly thereafter Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., told her, “Just say ‘aye.’"

GreenGoo wrote: Tue Jul 25, 2023 9:59 am

hepcat wrote: Mon Jul 24, 2023 6:57 pm That’s surprising to me. I always thought the chemical composition of a generic version of a drug was the exact same as the name brand.

Me too. It has always been described to me as a copy of the chemical formula from the branded product.

edit: I am shocked and dismayed to learn otherwise.

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Jul 28, 2023 12:55 pm I'm putting this here because I'm speechless.



It took me a second as well. I feel like...this isn't a coincidence. He can't be writing these himself, right?

Spoiler:

The 14/88 inclusion in this message *has* to be a reference to Hitler and White Supremacy, right? Right??

But the secretary of the Department of Homeland
Security has wide latitude to decide who qualifies and why, after consultation with an advisory committee. The committee is comprised of high-level members of the government including the speaker of the House, the House minority leader, the Senate majority leader, the Senate minority leader and one additional member chosen by the committee.

The Secret Service laid out a number of other factors explaining why not every declared presidential candidate gets a Secret Service detail and what goes into making that decision. The 2020 guidance lists polling thresholds for primary candidates or third-party general election nominees. And it also says the decision could be guided by a specific assessment of threats against that candidate.

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Jul 28, 2023 12:55 pm It took me a second as well. I feel like...this isn't a coincidence. He can't be writing these himself, right?

Spoiler:

The 14/88 inclusion in this message *has* to be a reference to Hitler and White Supremacy, right? Right??

Daehawk wrote: Thu Jul 27, 2023 11:15 am https://twitter.com/KenSills1/status/16 ... 5662987264