I’m not sure if you’re aware but there’s been a debate going on over some posts I’ve been making about Charities and their links (or not) to drug companies.
The posts are noted below and the main debate has been going on in the comments of ‘What a tangled web we weave’ involving some of the interested parties:
National Depression week 2005…
Yet more on Cymbalta marketing…
I only mention this as today on the BBC news website I read:
Drugs adviser raises charity fear
Concerns have been raised about the links between pharmaceutical firms and charity patient groups by the body that advises the NHS on which drugs to use.
Sir Michael Rawlins, chairman of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, said charities had to be wary of pharmaceutical donations.
And he urged charities to question the cost of drugs more. But patient groups said there were strict guidelines covering such donations by the drugs industry.
Sir Michael said: “Patient organisations need to think very carefully about why pharmaceutical companies are giving them money and they have to make sure they are not beholden to a pharmaceutical company.
“I have yet ever to hear a patient organisation criticise a price of the drug. When they do that they will come into their own.”
In my opinion the problems go much deeper than the simple worry that patient organisations might become beholden to pharmaceutical companies.
May 11, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Well it’s aboout time that this was highlighted in the mainstream media in the UK…
Of note from the BBC link…
And the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry denied there was anything wrong with such donations.
“Patient groups and companies have a shared interest. When they work together it is in the patients’ interests, usually to do with education programmes or disease awareness.
“Any involvement has to be declared by the company so it is quite transparent.”
Since when do Patient groups and the pharmaceutical companies share the same interests?…
And just what are these shared interests?….the patient or a paycheck?…
The so called “educational” purposes and “educational grants” are usually to fund studies done in order to push the pharmas drugs…
Dosease awareness?… Or just Simply Disease promotion under the banner of “awareness”…?
Deconstructing stigmas or Creating Markets to sell drugs?..
And as for “transparency” ..
A miniscule reference on the back or the bottom of a pharma funded study endorsed by a patient advocacy group hardly ammounts to advertising the fact now does it?…
May 13, 2007 at 11:14 am
[...] Drugs adviser raises charity fear [...]
May 20, 2007 at 6:40 pm
[...] Drugs adviser raises charity fear [...]
June 5, 2007 at 2:38 pm
[...] I see… June 5th, 2007 — admin It seems I’ve been left out in the cold – Jim Thomson only wants to talk to Bob Fiddaman over at Seroxat Sufferers – see the latest emails from Jim here, [...]