now it is my turn to have been more clear! "naughty" was a euphemism - yes, it is the nature of the beast, yes, they do it as a matter of course, yes, we as people with parkinson's (it is a pain in the *** to write out “people with parkinson’s” rather than “patients,” but i am not going to continue to give in to the urge to let laziness - or difficulty typing - reduce me and everyone else with pd to being defined by pd - no criticism of anyone but me in that statement) are completely and utterly irrelevant to the machine, which hums along very nicely, thank you very much, as long as we all just shut up and take our medicine - and folks aren't doing that anymore. (no criticism meant toward any of our forebears, either, who might have believed the hype and or been too consumed with trying to keep their heads above water to be able to move on other fronts.)

and “putting profits first” was a gross over simplification – putting profits first can be much more complex and subtle than just not pursuing a therapy because it would not be as profitable as the status quo (see below for info on illegal activities on the parts of companies that make levodopa and its myriad adjuncts.)

We are of one mind on this, I believe.

But what do you mean when you say:

thank you, Paula
Boann

Illegal activities on the parts of companies that make levodopa/carbidopa products:

• Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corporation, 115 F.T.C. 625 (1992) (consent order). The complaint charged that Sandoz unlawfully required those who purchased its schizophrenia drug, clozapine (the first new drug for the treatment of schizophrenia in more than 20 years), to also purchase distribution and patient-monitoring services from Sandoz. Blood monitoring of patients taking clozapine is required to detect a serious blood disorder caused by the drug in a small percentage of patients. The complaint alleged that this illegal "tying" arrangement raised the price of clozapine treatment and prevented others - such as private laboratories, the Veterans Administration, and state and local hospitals - from providing the related blood tests and necessary patient monitoring. The order prohibits Sandoz from requiring any purchaser of clozapine, or a patient taking clozapine, to buy other goods or services from Sandoz. [Sandoz is Novartis’ generic arm – in addition to making generic sinemet, together they make stalevo, bromocriptine, clozapine, amantadine, amitriptyline, nortriptyline, selegiline and comtan – all levodopa fixers] http://www.ftc.gov/bc/rxupdate021108...20to%20Compete

• FTC v. Mylan Laboratories et al., 62 F. Supp. 2d 25 (D.D.C. 1999) (FTC Commission Actions: November 29, 2000 (www.ftc.gov)). In a complaint seeking injunctive and other relief filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Commission charged Mylan Laboratories and three other companies, Profarmaco S.R.L., Cambrex Corporation, and Gyma Laboratories, with restraint of trade and conspiracy to monopolize the markets for two generic anti-anxiety drugs, lorazepam and clorazepate. The complaint also charged Mylan with monopolization and attempted monopolization of those markets.... On November 29, 2000, the Commission approved a proposed settlement, subject to approval by the federal district court, under which Mylan agreed to pay $100 million for distribution to injured consumers and state agencies. The defendants also agreed to an injunction barring them from entering into similar unlawful conduct in the future. [in addition to making generic sinemet, Mylan makes bromocriptine, clozapine, nortriptyline, amitriptyline, selegiline – all of which are used as levodopa fixers] http://www.ftc.gov/bc/rxupdate021108...20to%20Compete

• Bristol-Myers Squibb: On March 7, 2003, the Commission settled charges with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (Bristol), one of the world's largest drug makers, that it engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts over the past decade to obstruct the entry of low-price generic competition for three of Bristol's widely-used pharmaceutical products: two anti-cancer drugs, Taxol and Platinol, and the anti-anxiety agent BuSpar. According to the FTC's complaint, Bristol's illegal conduct protected nearly $2 billion in annual sales at a high cost to cancer patients and other consumers who were denied access to lower-cost alternatives, and were forced to overpay by hundreds of millions of dollars for important and often life-saving medications. Under one of the provisions of the proposed consent order, Bristol will not be able to obtain a 30-month stay, as provided in the Hatch-Waxman Act, on later-listed patents. [BMS markets sinemet]