Children's Health Defense By
Over the past decades, regulatory agencies have seen large proportions of their budgets funded by the industry they are sworn to regulate, according to an investigative report published Thursday by The BMJ.
Over the past decades, regulatory agencies have seen large proportions of their budgets funded by the industry they are sworn to regulate, according to an investigative report published Thursday by The BMJ.
The report examines whether drug regulators in six countries, including the U.S., “have sufficient independence from the companies they are meant to regulate.”
Investigative journalist Maryanne Demasi found significant conflicts of interest have developed between drug makers and the agencies charged with drug regulation, resulting in a negative impact on the quality of pharmaceutical products that reach the public.
In all 6 countries, ‘Big Pharma’ provided bulk of drug regulator funding
The issue of conflicts of interest between pharmaceutical regulators and “Big Pharma” is not new. Demasi referred to a 2005 example from the U.K., where the House of Commons health committee investigated the drug industry’s influence on health policy, including the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the U.K. equivalent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
