September 24, 2004, Hour One: Making Memories / Drug Companies

Science Friday > Archives > 2004 > September > September 24, 2004:
Hour One: Making Memories / Drug Companies

Are America's big drug companies more interested in profits, or cures? Join Ira and guests in this hour of Science Friday as we search for the truth about America's pharmaceutical companies. We'll be joined by Marcia Angell, former editior of the New England Journal of Medicine and author of a new book taking drug makers to task, and by Alan Holmer, the head of a trade association representing the pharmaceutical industry.

Plus, a trip inside the brain, to where memories are formed. Scientists believe they may have found the brain's storehouse of certain chemicals involved in the memory process. Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern), and share your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required).

Guests:
Julie Kauer
Associate Professor of Medical Science
Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology & Biotechnology
Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island

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Alan F. Holmer
President and C.E.O.
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
Washington, DC

Marcia Angell, MD
Author, "The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It"
Former Editor in Chief, New England Journal of Medicine
Lecturer, Department of Social Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts

This segment produced by Annette Heist

Archived Audio:
memories
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drug industry
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Books/Articles Discussed:

"The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It"
by Marcia Angell. Random House, 2004.

(find books discussed on previous broadcasts)