What if one of the biggest single reimbursed Medicare prescription drugs turned out toaccelerate tumor growth and also damage hearts and cause deadly strokes?

BLOOD FEUD: The Man Who Blew the Whistle on One of the Deadliest PrescriptionDrugs Ever (Dutton; September 20, 2011) by award-winning journalist Kathleen Sharp is a meticulously-researched expose that reveals what happens when two drug giants fight over a $100 billion biotech blockbuster- and when two ordinary men try to stop them.
 

Procrit is a brand of blood-boosters that has been on the market since 1989. The medicine has consistently ranked among Medicare's top reimbursed drugs - costing the government more than $60 billion. But Procrit has been shown to trigger heart attacks, tumor growth and even death. In June 2011, the FDA finally urged doctors to stop prescribing it.

How did this happen?

BLOOD FEUD exposes the twenty-five-year-long drama of impotent regulators, complicit politicians, greedy prescribers, and innocent patients. Sharp recounts the story of Johnson & Johnson Procrit salesman Mark Duxbury, who tried to bring these issues to light long before the FDA's tardy warnings.

Duxbury’s whistleblower case is now being tried by attorney Jan Schlichtmann, made famous in the NBCC-winning (and later Oscar-nominated film) A Civil Action. Sharp had exclusive access to him, Duxbury and other key players. This jaw-dropping book has been called a "blockbuster" by Kirkus and is featured in the October issue of Oprah Magazine.

Both Kathleen Sharp and attorney Jan Schlichtmann will be available at the event, where wine and finger food will be served.