Patient in danger

To maintain a high profit whereas innovation does no longer follow, some prestigious laboratories do not hesitate to sacrifice their ethical principles. Scientific scandals, frauds, falsifications of data, studies faked or skewed, secret documents, minimized side effects, lies and dissimulations.

Authorities of Monitoring

Swissmedic in Switzerland, the EMEA (The European Medicines Agency), the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the United States are the authorities of monitoring. They are charged to guarantee that only high-quality, safe and effective therapeutic products are placed on the market. In fact, the FDA plays a major role in the acceptance of drugs in the whole world. The other bodies generally follow its opinion. The role of the authorities of monitoring is thus capital, their impartiality and independence should be total. The problem is that usually their financing is not public: it is mainly the fruit of taxes and royalties payed by the industry. There are thus pressures which, in the last analysis, have effects on patients health. Moreover, it is difficult for the authority of monitoring to be the one which gives its green light for the marketing of a new drug and the one which orders its withdrawal in the event of problem, recognizing by this fact of having been mistaken. This should require the implementation of two entities completely different and independent one of the other.

Physicians under control

The medical doctors often believe that they can receive medical delegates, publicity, invitations to be taken part in congresses while keeping their independence of mind. However they are influenced - much than they believe it - by the speeches held by the professionals of pharmaceutical communication, by the medical press, which is often financed by the publicity of the pharmaceutical laboratories. It is now necessary to wonder about the possibility of helping the doctors to better resist to the pressure of pharmaceutical industry.