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Theme: Regulatory issues

Drugs regulatory bodies ought to be the public’s principal defence against medicines that are useless, unproven or downright dangerous. Yet regulators increasingly depend upon financing from the pharmaceutical industry itself.

Themes

Vision

When it comes to pharmaceutical companies’ strategies, many policy makers suffer from short-sightedness. Policy makers who see the situation clearly and who care about improving the social welfare system will reject pharmaceutical companies’ "compliance" programmes.

With one eye firmly fixed on the quarterly profits that might satisfy shareholders or disappoint analysts, pharmaceutical companies also take a long-term view.

They anticipate future changes, adapt to whatever constraints they can’t simply eliminate, and try to alter the political, legislative and media environment in their favour. They act as informed parties, efficiently defending their long-term interests.

When it comes to pharmaceutical companies’ strategies, many policy makers tend to be short-sighted.

In France, the threat of legalising pharmaceutical companies’ "compliance" programmes has not yet been totally ruled out. Policy makers who still want to see these programmes approved look the other way when it comes to marketing materials clearly demonstrating that these programmes are commercially motivated, with the objective of creating customer loyalty. They do not want to see the report from France’s General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS) that deplores "pharmaceutical companies’ excessive role in the healthcare system", and opposes their "compliance" programmes.

Today pharmaceutical companies are involved in many areas of healthcare: initial and continuing education of healthcare professionals, financing drug regulatory agencies, patient "information", new drug evaluation, redefining diseases and thresholds for therapeutic intervention, etc.

One often hears that only pharmaceutical companies have the means to finance healthcare initiatives. But this is short-sighted. Companies only appear to be the sole source of financing when the public sector fails to fulfil its responsibilities. In a country like France where the majority of pharmaceutical costs are covered by the public health insurance system, this system has the legitimacy and the budgetary resources necessary to take action in the interest of public health, without asking for handouts from pharmaceutical companies.

Policy makers who have the vision to see the situation clearly and who care about improving the social welfare system will reject pharmaceutical companies’ "compliance" programmes. And in so doing restore each actor in the healthcare system to its proper place.

Source: "Vision" Rev Prescrire 2008; 28 (295): 321.