Blood Medicine - by Kathleen Sharp (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Blood Feud rivals A Civil Action for best non-fiction book of the past twenty years." -- John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of Damage

Procrit seemed like a biotech miracle, promising a golden age in medical care. Developed in the 1980s by Amgen and licensed to the pharmaceutical giant, Johnson & Johnson, the drug (AKA Epogen and Aranesp) soon generated billions in annual revenue--and still does. In 2012, world famous cyclist, Olympian, and Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong was banned from professional cycling on doping charges for using EPO (the blanket name for the drugs Procrit and Epogen), resulting in a global controversy about abuse, big pharmaceutical companies, and the lies and inaccuracies concerning performance-enhancing drugs.

Mark Duxbury was a J&J salesman who once believed in the blood-booster, setting record sales and winning company awards. Then Duxbury started to learn unsavory truths about Procrit and J&J's business practices. He was fired and filed a whistleblower suit to warn the public.

When Jan Schlichtman (A Civil Action) learned of Duxbury's crusade, he signed on. Now, he's fighting on behalf of cancer patients and for every American who trusts Big Pharma with his life.

Review Quotes

"A page-turner, this alarming chronicle of profit seeking in American medicine will appeal to all who are invested in the health care they receive or the drugs they're prescribed." --Library Journal

About the Author

Kathleen Sharp is a journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Parade, Elle, and Fortune, among many other publications; she has won six awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, among other honors. She lives in Santa Barbara, California.