CONTACT INFORMATION
Susan Herold, media director, 202-462-6262,
sherold@consumer.org
Gail Shearer, project director, 202-462-6262,
sheaga@consumer.org
Steven Findlay, managing editor, 202-462-6262,
findst@consumer.org
RECENT NEWS RELEASES (in chronological order)
Anticonvulsants Effective, But Not Always Best Initial Choice
(September 5, 2007) – Some anticonvulsant drugs are effective in treating bipolar disorder, fibromyalgia, and various kinds of pain, but the widely prescribed drugs are not always the best initial choice to treat those conditions and some are quite expensive, according to the latest report from Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs®, a public information project of Consumers Union. The report – written for consumers and available free at www.CRBestBuyDrugs.org – compares and analyzes 12 anticonvulsants. Scientific evidence backs only a few in treating the three disorders. That is significant because many of the 12 drugs are commonly prescribed “off label” to treat mental health and pain problems. “The evidence is either weak or non-existent that some of them help people or are the best drugs to use,” says Gail Shearer, project director of Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs. “Doctors and patients should be more cautious and deliberative in using these drugs.
 Download press release (132k PDF File)
Older Low-Cost Drugs Are Best Bet and Best Buys for Type 2 Diabetes
(July 16, 2007) – Newer prescription drugs to treat type 2 diabetes – including much-promoted Avandia and Actos – are no more effective or safe than older drugs and cost significantly more, according to the latest report from Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, a public information project of Consumers Union. The report is based primarily on an in-depth analysis being released today of the scientific evidence on oral diabetes drugs by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. The analysis screened the findings of over 216 published studies and was sponsored by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. An article based on the new analysis is being published today on the Web site of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
Download press release (54k PDF File)
Aspirin is Best Choice for Most Consumers Needing Heart, Stroke Protection
(April 12, 2007) – For most people who need a blood-thinning drug to help prevent a first or repeat heart attack or stroke, aspirin is the drug of choice, according to the latest report from the Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs® project. Aspirin is one of four drugs in a class of medicines called antiplatelets. The other three are Aggrenox (a combination of aspirin and the drug dipyridamole), clopidogrel (Plavix), and ticlopidine (Ticlid). The medicines decrease blood clotting, which evidence now shows is intimately tied to heart attack and stroke risk. As a result, the use of aspirin and other antiplatelets has skyrocketed in recent years. “This report will help doctors and consumers clarify the choices when it comes to use of blood-thinning medicines,” said Steven Findlay, managing editor of Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs. “The almost incredible advantage here is that tens of millions of people can benefit from taking a medicine – aspirin – that is among the least expensive available and does not require a prescription.”
Download press release (70k PDF File)
Prescriptions for Cholesterol Drugs Rise with New Generics
(Feb. 13, 2007) - Prescriptions for the cholesterol-lowering medicines known as statins rose by an average of 500,000 a month between October 2005 and December 2006, according to a new analysis by Consumers Union and Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs. The increase was enhanced by the availability of simvastatin - the generic version of Zocor - one of two new generic statins that came onto the market in the latter half of 2006. The shift suggests aggressive moves by doctors, insurers, pharmacy benefit managers, pharmacists, and consumers to use the new generics.
Download press release (54k PDF File)
Download analysis (170k PDF File)
PDA Agreement Puts Best Buy Drugs Information at Doctors' Fingertips
(Jan. 25, 2007) - Doctors and medical professionals can now access Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs' independent reviews of prescription drugs via a popular personal digital assistant (PDA) drug reference guide, the Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia®. Users of this software can quickly review Best Buy summary reports that compare drugs on effectiveness, safety, and price based on the available scientific evidence.
Download press release (42k PDF File)
Prilosec OTC is Best Buy for Acid Reflux Disease
(Jan. 22, 2007) - A widely available nonprescription drug - Prilosec OTC - is as effective a treatment for heartburn and acid reflux disease as prescription drugs costing many times more, according to Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, a public education project of Consumers Union.
Download press release (52k PDF File)
Older Antipsychotic Drugs for Schizophrenia as Effective as Newer Ones
(Nov. 16, 2006) - People newly diagnosed with schizophrenia should be prescribed a less-expensive, older antipsychotic drug first before more costly newer drugs are tried, according to the latest report from Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs. The report echoes recent research findings that the older drugs work just as well for many people, and at far lower cost.
Download press release (54k PDF File)
Drugs for Overactive Bladder Are Only Modestly Effective
(Sept. 5, 2006) - The five prescription drugs used to treat overactive bladder are only modestly effective and have side effects that limit their usefulness, according to the latest report from Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs. Overactive bladder is characterized by the strong urge to urinate, often frequently and sometimes accompanied by leakage (incontinence). Some 15 to 20 million people in the U.S. have overactive bladder.
Download press release (50k PDF File)
Medco to Disseminate 'Best Buy Drugs' Information
(Aug. 14, 2006) - Consumer Reports' independent reviews of prescription drugs will be made available to millions of patients by the nation's largest pharmacy benefit manager, helping consumers make informed drug choices that may improve the nation's health outcomes while saving consumers significant amounts of money. Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MHS) will deliver Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs reports to its members via its new Savings Advisor tool.
Download press release (153k PDF File)
Sleeping Pills Helpful But Not the Best Treatment for Chronic Insomnia
(Aug. 7, 2006) - Americans with insomnia may be relying too heavily on sleeping pills instead of trying safer non-drug remedies which may also have longer-lasting benefits, according to a new report from Consumer Reports Best Buy Drug. While some evidence suggests the newer sleeping pills pose fewer risks of side effects, they still can cause problems, the report cautions.
Download press release (171k PDF File)
Two New Generic Statins Mean Big Savings for Consumers
(June 22, 2006) - Consumers who need medicine to lower their cholesterol should talk with their doctors about two new generics that could save them up to $1,800 per year, according to the latest report from Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs. The updated report on a class of drugs called "statins" adds generic simvastatin and pravastatin as Best Buys for millions of people who need a cholesterol-lowering drug. About one in 10 people over age 20 now takes a statin; one in four aged 65 and over do.
Download press release (49.6k PDF File)
Six Inhaled Steroids Equally Effective Against Asthma
(May 11, 2006) - The six oral inhalant steroid medicines used widely to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) don't differ significantly in effectiveness or safety, according to the latest report from Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs. However, the convenience of use and cost of the six drugs does differ, and studies support the preferential use of certain inhaled steroids in selected groups of patients.
Download press release (49.1k PDF File)
Analysis Finds Savings for Medicare Beneficiaries Choosing Best Buys; Drug Report Says Alzheimer's Drugs Only Marginally Effective
(March 2, 2006) - Seniors switching to effective lower-cost medicines identified by Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs can save hundreds to thousands of dollars a year and possibly avoid the Medicare drug benefit "doughnut hole," a new analysis shows.
Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs also released its 12-drug category report on drugs used to treat people with Alzheimer's disease. The report found the drugs only marginally effective. When compared with a placebo, only 10 to 20 percent more people taking one of the five Alzheimer's drugs derived any benefit. The drugs are also quite costly.
Download press release (52.7k PDF File)
Download Medicare analysis (166k PDF File)
Triptans Effective Against Migraines, But Many People Shouldn't Take Them
(February 21, 2006) - The medicines most frequently prescribed to treat migraine headaches - triptans - help relieve pain within two hours for about 60% of people who take one. But complete pain relief is less common and the drugs can't be used - or should be used with caution - by roughly half the population, according to the latest report from Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs.
Download press release (119k PDF File)
Medicare, Taxpayers Could Save $8.2 Billion Annually if Seniors Were Prescribed Generics for Cholesterol Reduction
(Jan. 11, 2006) - Savings of $8.2 billion could be achieved in the Medicare program in 2007 alone if Medicare beneficiaries were prescribed effective generic statins to lower cholesterol instead of higher-cost brand-name statins, an analysis by Consumers Union and Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs shows.
Download press release (112.9k PDF File)
Download the statin analysis (229k PDF File)
Best Buy Drug Savings for Medicare Beneficiaries
(Dec. 14, 2005) - Seniors struggling with the new Medicare drug benefit could save thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs by first talking with their doctor about switching to alternative, effective low-cost medicines before signing up with a drug plan, according to an analysis by Consumers Union and Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs. The analysis looked at five commonly prescribed drugs - for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, arthritis pain, and depression. It found seniors taking all five could save between $2,300 and $5,300 a year under various Medicare Part D insurance plans if they were taking a low-cost Best Buy drug instead of a more costly drug.
Download press release (53.6k PDF File)
Download Medicare analysis (120k PDF File)
Hormones Not Needed by Most Women for Menopausal Symptoms;
While Effective, Risks Outweigh Benefits for Most
(Nov. 17, 2005) - Medicines containing the female hormones estrogen and progestin
are highly effective at reducing the symptoms of menopause. But risks associated with
taking them outweigh the benefits for most women, according to a new report from
Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs.
Download press release (58.4k PDF File)
ADHD Drugs Are Effective, Safe, But Careful Diagnosis Needed
(Sept 26. 2005) - Between 60 percent and 80 percent of children and teens who take so-called stimulant drugs to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are helped by the medications, according to the latest report from Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs. But ADHD is difficult to diagnose and many children and teens taking stimulants today either do not have ADHD or have only mild symptoms that may not warrant drug treatment.
Download press release (54k PDF File)
ADHD Drugs Are Effective, Safe, But Careful Diagnosis Needed
(Aug. 3, 2005) - Nonprescription loratadine is a consumer's best bet and Best Buy for treating the symptoms of allergies, hay fever, and hives. Loratadine is the generic version of the former best-selling prescription drug Claritin. Loratadine is as effective and safe as the three remaining prescription antihistamines.
Download press release (63k PDF File)
Money-Saving Drugs for High Blood Pressure, Angina Chosen in Latest Report
(June 28, 2005) - Four of the eight drugs in a class called Calcium Channel Blockers have been chosen as Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs. All are relatively low-cost or moderately-priced medicines with proven track records of effectiveness and safety.
Download press release (61k PDF File)
Updated NSAIDs Report Released
(June 2, 2005) - Millions of Americans at higher risk of heart disease may want to avoid regular - or any - use of NSAIDs until safety issues are resolved. The new report identifies three generics - ibuprofen, naproxen and salsalate - as Best Buys . All cost $50 per month or less and could save consumers $2,100 a year over the highest-priced brand name NSAIDs.
Download press release (58k PDF File)
Download NSAIDs analysis (83k PDF File)
Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs Press Kit
Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, a new public education campaign launched by Consumers Union, is produced by a team of experienced staff and outside consultants who provide medical, outreach, and evaluation expertise to the project. An expert advisory board and national health and non-profit organizations lend their support to the broad-based public education effort.
Download press release (100k PDF File)
Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs Launches Website
(Dec. 9, 2004) - Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, has launched a public education campaign and free website that will help consumers save money on medicines. The reports compare a variety of prescription drugs on price, effectiveness and safety to help consumers and their doctors identify the most effective and affordable medicines.
Download press release (104k PDF File)
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