Piercing the Veil of Corporate Secrecy About Clinical Trials (Essay‪)‬

In the last three decades, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry has burgeoned into one of the most profitable industries. With profit has come power. Backed by unprecedented financial means and pressured by stockholders' demand for investment returns, pharmaceutical companies have taken a much Larger stake in all stages of medical research. Corporate contributions to research and development in academia have risen by 875 percent between 1980 and 2000. (1) Over this time, the industry has extended its influence into all aspects of the process of creating and regulating scientific knowledge and health care products. As a result, ever more of those involved in research now have financial relationships with the industry. Academic researchers may top off their salaries with stock options or fees for consultations, speaking arrangements, and membership on advisory boards of pharmaceutical companies. Financial rewards are also offered to consumer and advocacy groups, primary care physicians, research recruiters, bioethics consultants and centers, and scientists at the National Institutes of Health. (2) And while financial compensation may be inappropriate for those directly involved in the federal drug approval process, industry can offer these officials wall-paying jobs when they leave their positions. In addition, being on a company's payroll has not prevented experts from functioning as members of governmental advisory panels that approve new drugs and evaluate clinical practice guidelines.