New York Times Examines Avanir Pharmaceuticals’ Marketing of Treatment for Uncontrollable Laughing, Crying

The New York Times on Monday examined efforts by Avanir Pharmaceuticals to "prime the market" for an experimental medication "by elevating an ill-defined group of symptoms into a condition" under the name pseudobulbar affect, or PBA, "in hopes of establishing awareness of it among doctors and patients." Avanir officials said that they hope to receive FDA approval for Neurodex -- a combination of two older medications used to treat uncontrollable laughing or crying in patients -- by the end of this year. However, critics maintain that PBA does not require treatment because patients with the condition often have more serious health problems, such as multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease, Alzheimer's disease, stroke or brain injury. Critics also have "accused pharmaceutical companies of hyping dysfunctions into diseases to sell drugs," the Times reports. Avanir CEO Gerald Yakatan said that the efforts by the company to raise awareness of PBA are similar to the past efforts of other pharmaceutical companies to raise awareness of conditions such as erectile dysfunction and attention deficit disorder. Yakatan said, "Before there were drugs, these conditions didn't exist." Avanir has sponsored speeches, symposiums and continuing medical education courses for physicians and has placed advertisements in psychiatric journals to raise awareness of PBA. In addition, Avanir has "approached patient advocacy groups to publicize the condition," according to the Times (Pollack, New York Times, 5/9).