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THE SUNDAY TIMES 4 April 1999
DRUG-SAFETY DOCTORS HOLD SHARES IN THE MAKERS.
by Lois Rogers and Mark Macaskill.
Senior doctors who advise the government on whether
new drugs should be approved for use in
Britain have investments worth tens of thousands of
pounds
in the companies manufacturing them, a Sunday Times investigation
has
revealed. Many of the doctors have direct
shareholdings in the drug companies.
One,
who sits on the committee that advises the
government on drugs to be used
in specific
treatments, has shares worth 130,000 pounds in two of
Britain's
drug companies. Others receive substantial
perks such as research and equipment
grants,
free air travel to conferences and money to cover
salaries of extra research staff.
The
extent of the link raises questions about the objectivity of some
members
of the Standing Medical Advisory Committee 9SMAC0 and the
Committee
on Safety of Medicines (CSM). They are drawn from medical royal
colleges,
universities and hospitals across the country to give
independent
advice on which treatments should be licensed for use in
Britain.
David Hinchliffe, Labor chair of the Commons health
committee, said he would investigate the
apparent conflict of interest "It is wrong for
government
advisers to have financial interests in companies whose
products
they are advising on. It is something that concerns me very much"
he
said. Professor Robert Kendall president of
the Royal College of Psychiatrists
and
a m ember of SMAC,did not believe potential profits from drug sales to
the
National Health Service would influence the value of his 130,000
pounds
holdings in SmithKline Beecham and Glaxo Welcome. Kendall who has
declared
his interests, said "Any profit would be utterly trivial,
probably
only a couple of quid" Committee members
are supposed to declare such interests in a register
which
is, in theory, a public document. But it was only made available to
the
Sunday Times by the Department of Health after several requests and is
not
easily accessible to the public.
At least one
committee has, however, failed to make any declaration at
all.
Professor Roderick MacSween, president of the Royal College of
Pathologists
and a SMAC member, admitted that he might have been
"neglectful"
in not revealing his drug company shares worth 15,000 pounds.
"I
have ne ver been conscious of a conflict arising. I don't think I was
ever
asked about my interest in drug companies" he said.
Others
reacted angrily to questions about their financial interests.
Brian
Evans, a senior pharmacist on the CSM who has declared his
shareholdings
in Scotia, Glaxo, Boots and SmithKline Beecham, refused to
discuss
the potential conflict of interest. "I have done everything by the
book
and I don't see that it is anyone else's business." he said.
Members
are not obliged to disclose shares held by their spouses or
other
close family members. Sheila Williams, a consultant
anesthetist in Bristol and a SMAC member,
admitted that her husband had shares in Glaxo
but
said "I haven't declared them on the register of interests because
they
are not mine". It is well known among
doctors and civil servants at the Department of
Health
that the committee members are targeted by drug companies.
Some
committee members believe that seeking funds from drug companies
is
ethically acceptable if the money is used to boost
their research and so encourage medical
advances.(advances like the thousands killed or maimed
each
year by their approved drugs.ZL) Members who have drug company links
Members
who have drug company links are also adamant that such connections
in
no way influence their CSM and SMAC decisions.
"Any
specialist in an area invariably has research collaborations with
companies;
you just can't avoid it" said Gordon Duff, professor of
molecular
medicine at Sheffield University. He also sits on the CSM and
has
declared his interests in eight pharmaceutical companies.
Such
links are, however, being increasingly questioned within the
medical
profession. Richard Nicholson, editor of the
Bulletin of Medical Ethics called for the
committees to be governed by much stricter regulations of the kind that cover
MPs. The CMS's 34 members are paid 160 pounds
plus expenses to prepare for and
attend
the fortnightly meetings in London. SMAC's members are not paid.
Last
week, however, the health department warned members of both
committees
not to speak to the media about their drug company links.
(Wonder
if the health dept's relatives have shares?ZL) In an effort to
deflect
accusations that the committees are exclusive cliques and that the
doctors
may (may?ZL) be too closely involved with the drug companies, in
January
it appointed two lay members to the CSM.
However,
one of them has now declared that she has shareholdings in
three
drug companies.
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