Consumers trust medical journals to be the impartial and “true” source of information concerning a prescription drug, but few are privy to what is truly going on behind the scenes at both drug trials and medical journals.
Scientists who conduct drug trials may be hard-pressed to stay impartial when the manufacturers so often pay them for lectures and consultations, or when they are conducting research that has been funded by the company.
In addition, as stated by doctors Mark Hyman and Mark Liponis in Ultraprevention, since drug companies are so reliant on the word of doctors, they often visit doctors’ offices to hand out free samples, take the staff out to lunch, offer free gifts — including toys for kids, seminars at expensive restaurants and junkets to the Caribbean islands — and frequently sponsor continuing education for doctors.
Bribery Coming To An End
GSK is not the only culprit. Pfizer, Novartis, Merck, Eli Lilly and Sanofi have all been heavily criticized and accused of initiating scandals in medical research.
“It’s all coming to an end,” says Dr. Robin Herring. “There is no longer a place for corrupting the health of this country and drug companies are finally being exposed for this shady practice,” she stated.
Opponents of the perceived corruption are beginning to offer many solutions. A change may be in the cards, and as Richard Gerber, MD, notes, the number of patients seeking alternative medical answers to their problems is becoming too large for mainstream medical media to ignore.
Gerber says that some medical journals are even publishing articles that explore the nature of these “unorthodox” treatments and discuss why patients are seeking alternative health care.
GSK’s admission will surely not be the last for those at the top of big pharma’s food chain.