(PatriotNews.net) – The revolving door between Big Pharma and our nation’s health agencies has created a breeding ground for corruption that makes the swamp look like a kiddie pool.
At a Glance
- Only 33% of Americans express high trust in the U.S. health system according to a 2023 Gallup poll
- FDA’s independence compromised since 1992 when it began collecting fees from drug manufacturers it regulates
- Multiple FDA commissioners and CDC directors have maintained lucrative financial ties to pharmaceutical companies
- The CDC Foundation receives private sector donations, creating obvious conflicts of interest
- Big Pharma heavily funds medical research and lobbies Congress, leading to biased outcomes
Follow the Money: How Health Agencies Became Corporate Puppets
Remember when government health agencies actually worked for the American people instead of pharmaceutical company shareholders? That era ended decisively in 1992 when Congress passed the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, allowing the FDA to collect “fees” from the very drug manufacturers it was supposed to be regulating. What could possibly go wrong? In the decades since, drug approvals have accelerated while thorough safety reviews have taken a backseat. It’s no coincidence that Big Pharma profits have soared while the FDA increasingly looks like just another corporate department rather than a watchdog protecting Americans.
Conflicts of interest compromise US public health agency’s mission (@CDCgov), say scientists. Via @bmj_latest https://t.co/wyISnm17Ih
— Gary Ruskin (@garyruskin) October 28, 2016
The Revolving Door Spins at Dizzying Speed
The leadership of our health agencies resembles a game of musical chairs between government and industry positions. Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb now sits on Pfizer’s board of directors. Dr. Robert Califf had financial relationships with more than 20 pharmaceutical companies before becoming FDA commissioner. And these aren’t isolated cases – they’re the rule, not the exception. Just listen to Califf himself who proudly declared, “Many of us consult with the pharmaceutical industry, which I think is a very good thing.”
“Many of us consult with the pharmaceutical industry, which I think is a very good thing” – Dr. Robert Califf.
The CDC is no better. Former CDC director Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald was forced to resign after it was revealed she purchased tobacco stocks while leading an agency responsible for reducing tobacco use. Another former director, Dr. Julie Gerberding, left the CDC and within a year became president of Merck’s vaccine division. The conflicts are so blatant they don’t even try to hide them anymore. Meanwhile, the CDC Foundation rakes in private sector donations from the very corporations the CDC is supposed to be objectively evaluating.
The Scientific Research Money Trap
The corruption doesn’t stop with agency leadership. The pharmaceutical industry has its tentacles wrapped around medical research, funding studies that – surprise, surprise – tend to show favorable results for their products. Independent research is becoming endangered as corporate money floods academic institutions and medical journals. The same companies spending billions on this “research” are simultaneously pouring millions into congressional campaign coffers, ensuring that any meaningful oversight remains a fantasy. Is it any wonder Americans’ trust in our health system has plummeted?
The Constitution established checks and balances to prevent exactly this kind of corruption, but our government health agencies have morphed into extensions of the corporate interests they’re supposed to regulate. Until we sever the financial ties between regulators and the regulated, drain the swamp of conflicts of interest, and restore independent oversight, Americans will continue to pay the price – not just with their tax dollars but with their health and lives. The question isn’t whether we’ve lost trust in these agencies – the question is whether they ever deserved that trust in the first place.
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