"Big Pharma" — two words that Americans love to hate. When asked about the pharmaceutical industry, most of the country responds with a mix of anger and suspicion, using terms like "corporate capture," "revolving door," and "profits over people" to describe its influence, a sentiment felt even stronger after the pandemic. And yet, we are a nation that depends on their life-saving, life-improving products. Americans demand innovation from Big Pharma, but are simultaneously frustrated and mistrustful of their motives and influence. Today, we delve into our complex relationship with the pharmaceutical industry. What fuels this mistrust? Is there a better system? Joining us is bioethicist, author, and TED Talk star hailing from Penn State University Jonathan Marks, who believes it doesn’t have to be this way.
Hosts:
Brinda Adhikari
Tom Johnson
Maggie Bartlett
Dr. Mark Abdelmalek
Guest:
Jonathan Marks, Director of Bioethics Program at Penn State University, lawyer, author The Perils of Partnership: Industry Influence, Institutional Integrity, and Public Health
Sources:
2019 pharma ranked least well regarded industry
https://news.gallup.com/poll/266060/big-pharma-sinks-bottom-industry-rankings.aspx
2023 Gallup on pharma
https://news.gallup.com/poll/510641/retail-pharmaceutical-industries-slip-public-esteem.aspx
Lessons from Corporate Influence in the Opioid Epidemic https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32661741/
STAT on financial donations to Congress
https://www.statnews.com/feature/prescription-politics/federal-full-data-set/
NIH funds drug research
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5878010/
TED TALK: Jonathan Marks: In Praise of Conflict
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf8j5LFv3nI
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