Social Forces in the Premature Removal of Drug Products from the Marketplace

Abstract

The premature removal of drug products from the marketplace is a very complex, interactive phenomenon, with a number of societal, economic, and regulatory factors playing significant parts in the process. Previous cases indicate that the process involves the interplay of these factors around a drug taking situation. the focal point of most problems is the presentation of effects, usually negative, attributed to a drug, or the nature of a drug's image. It is suggested that this process of premature drug removal be analyzed in greater detail, with the hope of better understanding and preventing the occurrence of this phenomenon.

There have been a number of recent cases of drug products which have been removed from the marketplace before their time. While this phenomenon of premature or unanticipated removal is not new, the number of specific situations in which this has occurred does appear to have increased lately. This is a time when societal forces and collective consumer consciousness, in any form, can influence, change, or impede the drug development process and the “normal” life of a specific drug product. It seems, however, that this important issue of early removal of drug products has not been given a great deal of attention.