Robert Bazell

"If anyone doubts the influence of drug company ads on patients and physicians — consider all those wasted billions of dollars for a pill that sells for more than six times as much as another drug that does the same thing, made by the same company."

Robert Bazell is Chief Science and Health Correspondent for NBC News.

Editor's Note: He is, of course, referring to AstraZeneca's Prilosec (costs about $30/month) and Nexium (costs about $200/month).  Nexium (the 'little purple pill') costs six times as much but is only 3 percent better at relieving symptoms.

Shame on AstraZeneca and double shame on the FDA top managers who approved this drug even though the officer assigned to the case concluded that the new drug offered no "significant clinical advance" over the old drug. Your actions wasted billions of dollars a year that could have been put to better use.

The Costly Side Effects of Nexium's Ad Blitz (NBC News)