Re: You Fat Bastards...

On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 16:00:00 +0100, Kim Bolton wrote:


Adie wrote:

Kim Bolton <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


Ace wrote:

In addition to the way we run our trials, I have a personal
responsibility for ensuring that no dodgy practices creep into our
trial analysis or conclusions. We devote much of our time to internal
self-regulation which is, we hope and believe, much more severe than
that which would be asked by an external agency.

With respect, that is only part of the argument. You will not know if
the pharma companies have taken a similar view to that taken by the
tobacco companies after the last war regarding the concerns that were
beginning to be voiced about their product and its effect on human
health.

it is well known that drug companies try to look for products that are
likely to have a high income.

drug testing costs money which has to be recouped from somewhere,
especially for the large pharma.

there are lots of little companies out there doing experimentation for
niche products. they don't have the overheads.

one of the reasons Roche grew is due to Lariam.

Thanks for your input.

The tobacco companies decided in 1950 that there was growing concern
about the health effects of their products, and they needed to take
steps to deal with the situation.
<Snip>
However, this research was not to be published, but was to be used to
inform the companies where they were most vulnerable to attack by
anti-smoking campaigners. Because the anti-smoking campaigners were not
well funded, they could not carry out similar research to rebut the
tobacco companies statements. One can judge for oneself whether that
tactic has worked over the last six decades.

Whilst that probably helped them make a lot of money for another couple of
decades, the situation at the moment is far different. Defending
themselves from lawsuits and paying the resultant settlements costs
hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Some of the judgements against
the companies are staggerring and could result in any or all of them
disappearing almost overnight. (Obviously they all get appealed, and
usually the companies end up paying merely tens of millions, instead of
billions in damages.)

Recently, there was a judgement against one or more companies undear the
US's RICO laws. That's Federal anti-racketeering legislation so they're
being treated almost like organised crime!

I'm not trying to say that they don't deserve a lot of this pain, (even
though part of my salary comes from one of the big players). But I think
they've shown other companies that playing fast and loose with the health
of Western consumers - particularly American ones - is extremely dangerous
to the company. Even if they had no ethical concerns it would be a
foolish CEO who let their company head down that path.

Moving on to the pharma companies - they need to generate income in
order to fund research into new drugs, so far all well and good.

But what is the benefit to them of a well-informed public treating
themselves with cheap, over-the-counter remedies and supplements that
have been around, in many cases, for thousands of years? None
whatsoever; in fact it reduces their income stream.

<SNIP>

So, if there is a hidden agenda, it might not matter how rigorously such
drug-testing is carried out, if any form of competition from cheap and
ancient remedies is cut off and income streams enhanced.

That, though, is a completely different situation to the tobacco
companies' past immorality. NO business is going to help its competitors
drive it out of buisness. It's absurd to think that they would or should
do so.

Use the cheap alternatives if you wish; fund independent research into
their efficacy, too. But it's ridiculous to complain that the
pharmaceutical companies aren't doing it for you.

Or are you suggesting that the companies are researching cheap treatments
then deliberately releasing falsified data suggesting that they're
ineffective or have unacceptable side-effects?

--
Simon - UKRM~verdigris,plus,com
Tiger - A return to good sense.
Z1000 - Less sense, more sensation.
MAG BOTAFOT#36 two#22 HLR#pi BONY#62 BHaLC#3 LotR#7

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