Posts
Court evidence now available on-line at the University of California library shows drug giant Merck systematically targetted “hit-lists” of doctors to discredit, neutralise or destroy critics of the safety and effectiveness of Merck’s drugs.
You can read the documents yourself at the links below [see heading at end "Merck Documents Revealed in Court Evidence"].
You can read the documents yourself at the links below [see heading at end "Merck Documents Revealed in Court Evidence"].
One memo stated:
we may need to seek them out and destroy them where they live….”
Dr Andrew Wakefield said when interviewed by CBS:-
This is not conspiracy. This is corporate policy.“ – [CBS News – Research Links Kids Vaccines & Brain Damage - October 9, 2009 childhealthsafety].
Wakefield is the British medical doctor who put child health safety over autism and the MMR vaccine before his career and has been hounded by big money ever since: Sunday Times’ Claims “Discredited” – Wakefield’s Autism Research Verified .
Governments expect parents to trust the health and safety of their children to drug companies like Merck, a manufacturer of the MMR and other vaccines.
Other recent examples of blatant ‘fixing’ of the published scientific evidence base includes that by Merck and by drug maker Wyeth.
Merck paid medical journal publisher company Elsevier [whose CEO Sir Crispin Davis sits on GlaxoSmithKline's board] to publish a fake medical journal with articles favourable to Merck’s drugs: [Merck published fake journal - Bob Grant - The Scientist - 30th April 2009].
Drug maker Wyeth flooded medical journals with some 40 ghostwritten articles penned by prominent physicians who sold their name for cash, in an all-out effort to offset the scientific evidence linking its female hormone replacement drug, Prempro, to breast cancer: [Judge orders Wyeth papers unsealed – Associated Press – July 25, 2009].
Covert lobbying and manipulation is endemic:-
‘The use of PR to counter negative publicity’
‘221. ………. Considerable resources are invested into building long-term, sustainable relationships with stakeholders and ‘key opinion leaders‘ and journalists. These relationships are used to promote the use of certain brands and counter concerns relating to safety. Efforts to undermine critical voices in particular were identified, under terms of “issues management”. In later evidence, in response to the ISM’s memorandum, Pfizer stated that PR is entirely legitimate and can “help to educate and inform”. According to the PMCPA, PR activities may include “placing articles in the lay press, TV documentaries, soap operas etc“.’ [p60 'The Influence of the Pharmaceutical industry' 2004 - English Parliamentary Health Select Committee report [emphasis added]]
0 comments