10 Dirty Secrets About the Drug Industry

When we go to the doctor, we deserve to get the best care medicine has to offer, science-based and unbiased. Regrettably, the truth is often far from it.

1) Crime pays. As just two recent examples, Pfizer was fined a record $2.3 Billion in September 2009 (by the way, if $2.3 Billion sounds steep, this represents less than three weeks of sales for the company); and in January 2009, Eli Lilly was fined $1.4 Billion (as a side note, Eli Lilly had revenue of $20 Billion in 2008). So, why do these companies choose criminal conduct over integrity? Profits. Drugs like Vioxx (made by Merck) are so profitable that the drug companies see people criminal fines as mere costs of doing business.

2) It’s illegal to “bribe” a doctor to write prescriptions… but what’s not illegal is “unmonitored promotion.” The drug industry spends about $14,000,000,000 ($14 Billion) a year on what often amounts to paid vacations and entertainment to promote their drugs. In one recent example, “Pfizer invited doctors to consult at meetings, many in resort locations. Attendees' expenses were paid, they received a fee just for being there, and they were entertained with golf, massages and other activities…” said Mr. Michael Loucks, Acting U.S. Attorney, Massachusetts. The goal is simple: influence the physician for when it comes time to write a prescription. The drug industry spends an average of $20,000 per year, per doctor on this type of marketing.

3) There is 1 pharmaceutical salesperson per 10 doctors. The total budget on these salespeople is $20 Billion a year. This works out to $30,000 per year, per doctor. One might assume that these pharmaceutical reps would be required to have a background in pharmacology? The truth is a mere 5% have any formal pharmaceutical education. Research confirms that physicians do not prescribe drugs based on their cost or effectiveness. The biggest factor is the company whose sales rep has most recently paid a visit.

4) Remember the ads: “Ask your doctor about Vioxx”? The US drug industry spends over $30 Billion a year in “Direct to Consumer Advertising”. This type of marketing is illegal in all developed countries except the US and New Zealand.

5) FDA conflict of interest. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is here to protect us, right? More than 50% of the people who advise the FDA on drug safety have a financial interest in the decision. Although federal law says that this is illegal, exceptions are granted regularly. As just one example, between January 1998 and June 2000, the FDA granted 800 waivers to the rule.

6) Roughly 100,000 people a year die from OTC (over the counter) and prescription drugs. The only other worse culprits are: cancer, heart disease and stroke. In the last 25 years, 20 percent of the approved drugs have either been recalled (think Vioxx) or have had new labels added warning of extreme side effects.

7) Reporting ADR’s (Adverse Drug Reactions) is voluntary. Drugs like Vioxx can slip through the cracks when companies choose to cover up known problems. Who knows how many lives might have been saved if Merck had been honest from the first point it knew something was wrong?

8) The drugs often don’t work. Sidney Taurel, chairman of Eli Lilly, admits “The typical Food and Drug Administration approved drug is effective on just 50 percent of patients.” Now, this is from the chairman of Eli Lilly.

9) They promote “disease management” over true preventative health care. Most of the drugs on the market today only 1) cover up the true issue; 2) create addictions; 3) have side effects that are worse than what’s being treated; 4) actually cause the condition to get worse than before. Simply put, healthy people don’t create profits. The drug industry gets the highest profit margins from creating “lifetime users”.

10) Manipulation of “clinical research.” Drug companies create the drug, then they pay for the clinical research used to study its’ safety and effectiveness. The public and physicians are led to believe that impartial research institutions are conducting the studies. The little known truth is that today, over 90% of safety and effectiveness research is financed directly by the drug companies. The drug manufacturers carefully stack the decks in their favor, throw away studies that don’t show the desired outcomes and put researchers under pressure to “get the right results.”

Now, with all this said… There’s no disputing that penicillin, the polio vaccine, and countless other medical miracles have saved millions of lives. Regrettably, there is also a dark side to the drug industry – a side that far too often puts profits ahead of public health.

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