Pharmaceuticals Corporate Crime And Public Health

The pharmaceutical industry exists to serve the community, but over the years it has engaged massively in corporate crime, with the public footing the bill. This readable study by experts in medicine, law, criminology and public health documents the pr

'Given the provenance, this book was always going to be excellent, but it exceeded my highest expectations. It's one of those rare works that combine true scholarship with great imagination and ends up also a real pleasure to read. the breadth of analysis is remarkable and the modelling for better futures is superb. It's more than a must read book; it is a must heed commentary, a blueprint for better public health that would be perilous to ignore.' - Charles Medawar, Founder Social Audit and author of Power and Dependence: Social Audit on the Safety of Medicines the pharmaceutical industry exists to serve the community, but over the years it has engaged massively in corporate crime, with the public footing the bill. This readable study by experts in medicine, law, criminology and public health documents the problems, ranging from false advertising and counterfeiting to corruption, waste and overpricing, with unacceptable pressures on doctors, politicians, patients and the media. Uniquely, the book goes on to present a realistic and worldwide solution for the future, with positive policies encouraging honest dealing as well as partial privatization of enforcement and greater emphasis on creative research to develop the medicines that society needs most.

First published in 1984, this book examines corporate crime in the pharmaceutical industry. Based on extensive research, including interviews with 131 senior executives of pharmaceutical companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico and Guatemala, the book is a major study of white-collar crime. Written in the 1980s, it covers topics such as international bribery and corruption, fraud in the testing of drugs and criminal negligence in the unsafe manufacturing of drugs. The author considers the implications of his findings for a range of strategies to control corporate crime, nationally and internationally.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS ARE THE THIRD LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH AFTER HEART DISEASE AND CANCER. In his latest ground-breaking book, Peter C Gotzsche exposes the pharmaceutical industries and their charade of fraudulent behaviour, both in research and marketing where the morally repugnant disregard for human lives is the norm. He convincingly draws close co

​This book discusses the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on the practice of medicine, and the observed and potential pitfalls of such partnerships. It argues that the pharmaceutical industry has become indispensable to many of the activities of the medical profession across the pharmaceutical product lifecycle, and examines the regulatory, ethical, professional and institutional difficulties that arise from these interactions. With data drawn from over 80 qualitative accounts from medical, pharmaceutical, regulatory and healthcare professionals, this book uses both Hungary and the Netherlands as case studies to demonstrate the potential problem of undue pharmaceutical industry influence within the relationships fostered with the profession of medicine. Chapters systematically describe the lifecycle of a pharmaceutical product from research to distribution, demonstrating the interdependency of industry and medicine. Arguing that the medical profession should be a buffer between the pharmaceutical industry interests and patient interests, the book explores how undue industry influence weakens the ability of the medical profession to do so. Using the theory of institutional corruption, the book aims to analyze how conflict of interest and the weakening of institutional imperatives is a result of institutional interactions rather than individual actions. Appropriate for students and researchers of the pharmaceutical industry, corporate corruption, and those working in NGOs and policy making, this unique volume is an comprehensive look at the complex relationship between medicine and pharmacy.

During her two decades at The New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Marcia Angell had a front-row seat on the appalling spectacle of the pharmaceutical industry. She watched drug companies stray from their original mission of discovering and manufacturing useful drugs and instead become vast marketing machines with unprecedented control over their own fortunes. She saw them gain nearly limitless influence over medical research, education, and how doctors do their jobs. She sympathized as the American public, particularly the elderly, struggled and increasingly failed to meet spiraling prescription drug prices. Now, in this bold, hard-hitting new book, Dr. Angell exposes the shocking truth of what the pharmaceutical industry has become–and argues for essential, long-overdue change. Currently Americans spend a staggering $200 billion each year on prescription drugs. As Dr. Angell powerfully demonstrates, claims that high drug prices are necessary to fund research and development are unfounded: The truth is that drug companies funnel the bulk of their resources into the marketing of products of dubious benefit. Meanwhile, as profits soar, the companies brazenly use their wealth and power to push their agenda through Congress, the FDA, and academic medical centers. Zeroing in on hugely successful drugs like AZT (the first drug to treat HIV/AIDS), Taxol (the best-selling cancer drug in history), and the blockbuster allergy drug Claritin, Dr. Angell demonstrates exactly how new products are brought to market. Drug companies, she shows, routinely rely on publicly funded institutions for their basic research; they rig clinical trials to make their products look better than they are; and they use their legions of lawyers to stretch out government-granted exclusive marketing rights for years. They also flood the market with copycat drugs that cost a lot more than the drugs they mimic but are no more effective. The American pharmaceutical industry needs to be saved, mainly from itself, and Dr. Angell proposes a program of vital reforms, which includes restoring impartiality to clinical research and severing the ties between drug companies and medical education. Written with fierce passion and substantiated with in-depth research, The Truth About the Drug Companies is a searing indictment of an industry that has spun out of control.