"It is troubling that formerly militant activists and physicians, [constituting as they now do,] a vast vested lobby on behalf of a multibillion dollar AIDS treatment industry, fail to see AIDS treatment for what it is: A stop-gap measure."
"Further improvements in transparency concern the industry's involvement with patient organizations. Patient organizations wield significant lobbying power for the use of favored drugs -- with or without appropriate supporting evidence. British pharmaceutical industry members must now make public all patient organizations to which they provide financial support, and describe the exact terms of their involvement." Lancet, November 26, 2005
New code of practice for British Pharmaceutical Industry focuses on interaction with patient advocacy organizations
from a November 16, 2005 ABPI press release:
Details of the revised and updated ABPI Code of Practice that governs the UK-based pharmaceutical industry's relations with healthcare professionals and other stakeholders were published today. The new code comes into effect on January 1, 2006.
A major review of the code and its operation has taken place, and among key changes to the code are:
...
Relationships with the public and patient groups
There is also an important new clause concerning relationships with patient advocacy groups. While companies are permitted to work with such groups, their involvement must be made clear, and rules on arrangements for meetings are the same as those for health professionals.
Companies must make public, by means of information on their website or annual report, a list of all patient organizations to which they provide financial support, and a written agreement must be in place with every organization spelling out exactly the terms of the relationship and funding of every significant activity or ongoing cooperation.
The new ABPI Code of Practice can be accessed at www.pmcpa.org.uk.
NOTE: While the concerns of commercial bias, corruption and kick-backs expressed here are serious and well-documented, they in no way endorse or support a thesis which denies any of the following:
(1) That HIV is necessary in the causation of the immune deficiency syndrome called AIDS; (2) That HIV antibody tests accurately diagnose HIV in up to 98% of infected individuals after 4-12 weeks of infection; (3) That antiretroviral medicines, while far from perfect, improve immune function and can extend life; (4) That HIV is heterosexually as well as homosexually transmitted; (5) That condoms, when used properly, can prevent HIV transmission; (6) That HIV/AIDS is one of many serious public health challenges in many regions of Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.
