One of the more unusual gifts I received this holiday season was a rechargeable cordless mouse from my mother’s fiance with the drug name Noxafil (posaconazole oral suspension) on it. In all fairness to the guy who gave it to me, he did say it was a freebie, and he did give me another gift that might have cost actual money (not that I expect or want gifts from anyone, but I suppose I don’t hate them either). Anyway, my feelings about Mom’s fiance are positive, but that’s not what this post is about.
So what is Noxafil? I haven’t the foggiest… but with the Internet at my fingertips, I can see that it’s an antifungal drug for use in those with compromised immune systems. Oral suspension might explain why the mouse has the name suspended in a clear liquid (hopefully it’s really not the drug in there). I wonder where they came up with the name Noxafil, though. All it makes me think of is all those obnoxafil drug reps who push these medications on my doctors. No wonder why I’m always getting the latest untested medications. Free mice.
A cordless USB mouse is a pretty sweet freebie, though, and I wouldn’t mind being on a list to get more drug company-branded items. I haven’t thought of how much stuff these companies give away since looking for a gift on EBay (a few years ago) for my friend Allegra. (She ended up with a framed set of the Allegra comic book series. I figured she was sick of hearing her name on TV in pharmaceutical ads every five seconds.)
In any case, I’m using the cordless mouse now as I’m writing this. I’ve been told not to expect it to last too long, but I’m sure it’ll be fun while it lasts. Thanks, big pharma!