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Barbara Mintzes

Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sydney
Dr Barbara Mintzes is a research scientist specialising in the study of pharmaceutical policy. Her research focuses on the effects of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs and other forms of pharmaceutical promotion on the prescribing and use of medicines. She also performs systematic reviews of clinical trial evidence regarding the health effects of medicines, including both benefit and harm, in terms of outcomes of importance to patients’ health. Dr Mintzes has
has a doctorate in Health Care and Epidemiology and was Associate Professor at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada prior to joining the University of Sydney in April 2015. At UBC, she worked with the Therapeutics Initiative, a research group that evaluates new drugs as a background to provincial reimbursement decisions and produces an educational bulletin on drug treatments. Currently, she is the lead investigator on an international comparative study examining the influence of national regulations on the amount of safety information that pharmaceutical sales representatives provide to primary care physicians. Dr Mintzes was a lead member of an international WHO and Health Action International (HAI) project that involved developing an educational manual on drug promotion, for pharmacy and medical students. This manual has been translated into Spanish, Russian and French, and incorporated into education curricula in a range of settings. Dr Mintzes maintains strong community engagement, having worked for many years with women’s health and consumer groups, including DES (diethylstilbestrol) Action Canada, and Women and Health Protection (a Canadian non-profit organization). She co-authored the book “Sex, Lies and Pharmaceuticals” with Ray Moynihan, published in 2010.

Drug companies pay doctors over A$11 million a year for travel and education

May 24, 2024 10:25 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

Drug companies are paying Australian doctors millions of dollars a year to fly to overseas conferences and meetings, give talks to other doctors, and to serve on advisory boards, our research shows. Our team analysed...

Opioid marketing to Canadian doctors hyped benefits, downplayed harms

Mar 10, 2020 11:54 am UTC| Health

Between January 2016 and June 2019 there were over 13,900 deaths from opioid overdoses in Canada, 4,500 of which occurred in 2018. Based on information to date, 2019 is likely to have a similar mortality rate. Most deaths...

Economy

Trump Threatens 100% Tariffs on Countries Imposing Digital Services Taxes on U.S. Tech Firms

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the United States will impose a 100% tariff on imports from any country that enforces digital services taxes (DSTs) on American technology companies, significantly...

US Dollar Slips After PCE Inflation Data as Fed Rate Hike Expectations Stay Elevated

The U.S. dollar edged lower on Friday, extending its decline for a second consecutive session after a six-day winning streak pushed the greenback to its strongest level since May 2025. Despite the modest pullback, the...

Gold Price Ends Lower for Fourth Week Despite Rebound as Fed Rate Hike Bets Strengthen

Gold prices rebounded more than 1% on Friday but still finished the week in negative territory, as renewed expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and a stronger U.S. dollar continued to pressure the precious...

Wall Street Ends Lower as AI Stocks Drag Markets, Fed Rate Outlook Shifts

Wall Street closed slightly lower on Friday, capping a difficult week for U.S. equities as technology stocks led the decline. With geopolitical tensions easing following diplomatic progress in the Middle East and oil...

South Korea’s KOSPI Plunges as Apple Price Hikes and OpenAI IPO Delay Shake AI Chip Stocks

South Koreas benchmark KOSPI index suffered a steep selloff on Friday as investors dumped technology and semiconductor stocks following Apples latest price increases and reports that OpenAI may delay its highly anticipated...

Politics

US Seizes Nearly 400 Illegal World Cup Streaming Domains in Global Anti-Piracy Crackdown

U.S. authorities have seized nearly 400 internet domains that were allegedly used to illegally stream FIFA World Cup matches, marking one of the largest anti-piracy enforcement actions tied to the global soccer tournament....

Iran Revolutionary Guards Claim Strike on U.S. Military Positions After Fresh U.S. Attack

Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Saturday that it had targeted U.S. military positions across the region in retaliation for what it described as a fresh U.S. military strike against Iran,...

Texas Approves Bible-Inclusive Reading Lists for Public Schools Starting in 2030

Texas has approved new mandatory reading lists for public school students that include passages from the Bible, marking the latest move by state leaders to incorporate conservative and religious values into public...

US Strikes Iran After Strait of Hormuz Attack as Ceasefire Tensions Escalate

The United States launched military strikes against Iran on Friday following an Iranian drone attack on a commercial cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, further escalating tensions despite a ceasefire agreement reached...

NATO Strengthens Arctic Defense as Russia Expands Military Presence

As NATO ramps up efforts to reinforce its Arctic defenses, alliance members are investing in military capabilities to counter Russias growing presence in the strategically important High North. The initiative comes as...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Italy Investigates Microsoft Over Microsoft 365 AI Subscription Price Hike

Italys antitrust authority has launched an investigation into Microsoft over allegations of unfair commercial practices tied to the pricing changes for its Microsoft 365 subscription service. The probe focuses on whether...

SpaceX, Charter Communications Explore Mobile Partnership to Expand Starlink Wireless Service

SpaceX and Charter Communications are reportedly in executive-level discussions about forming a strategic partnership that could accelerate the expansion of consumer mobile services across the United States. According to a...

OpenAI IPO Delay Weighs on SoftBank Shares as AI Valuation Concerns Grow

SoftBank Group (TYO:9984) shares tumbled sharply on Friday after a report suggested that OpenAI is considering postponing its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO), delaying what many investors had expected to...

Apple Supplier Stocks Slide as Samsung, SK Hynix Lead Selloff After Apple Price Hikes

Apples major Asian suppliers came under heavy selling pressure on Friday after the iPhone maker announced significant price increases for its MacBook and iPad lineup, fueling concerns that rising semiconductor costs are...

Samsung, SK Hynix to Unveil Record AI and Semiconductor Investment Plans Worth Over $646 Billion

South Korean technology giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are preparing to unveil sweeping long-term investment strategies centered on semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), and next-generation technologies,...