Risk of ‘murky’ drugs firms,by Queen’s doctor
ThE QuEEn’S former personal doctor has called for an urgent public inquiry into drugs firms’ ‘murky’ practices. Sir Richard Thompson, former president of the Royal College of Physicians and doctor to the Queen for 21 years, has cautioned that many medicines are less effective than thought.
The physician is one of a group of six eminent doctors warning about the influence of pharmaceutical companies. The experts have claimed that drugs firms develop medicines they can profit from, rather than those likely to benefit patients the most. They have also accused the nhS of failing to stand up to large pharmaceutical firms.
Sir Richard said: ‘The time has come for a full and open public inquiry into the way evidence of the efficacy of drugs is obtained and revealed. There is real danger that some current drug treatments are much less effective than previously thought.’
he highlighted the ‘sometimes murky basis on which the efficacy of drugs, particularly in the elderly, are judged’. And the group of experts’ leader – cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra – claimed commercial conflicts of interest are contributing to an ‘epidemic of misinformed doctors and misinformed patients’.
Dr Malhotra pointed out that all the data from a trial for statins – the cholesterol-lowering drugs which are prescribed to an estimated 10million people in britain – was never fully published, and he questioned the power of Tamiflu, which has cost the nhS nearly £500million.
he also cited an investigation by the bMJ medical journal, which this month suggested blood-thinning drug Rivaroxaban is not as safe as its trial suggests – although the European Medicines Agency, which regulates drugs, has stood by the drug. Writing for MailOnline, Dr Malhotra added: ‘There is no doubt that a “more medicine is better” culture lies at the heart of healthcare, exacerbated by financial incentives within the system to prescribe more drugs and carry out more procedures.
‘but there’s a more sinister barrier to raising awareness of – and tackling – such issues that we should be most concerned about. And that’s the information provided to doctors and patients.’
he accused drugs companies of ‘gaming the system’ by spending twice as much on marketing as on research. And he claimed prescription drugs often do more harm than good – alleging one in three hospital admissions among the over- 75s are caused by adverse drug reactions.
Dr Malhotra said: ‘For the sake of our future health and the sustainability of the nhS it’s time for real collective action against “too much medicine”, starting with the Public Accounts Committee launching a full independent inquiry into the efficacy and safety of medicines.’
In addition to Sir Richard, Dr Malhotra is backed by Professor John Ashton, president of the Faculty of Public health; psychiatrist Dr JS bamrah, chairman of the british Association of Physicians of Indian Origin; cardiologist Professor Rita Redberg, editor of medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine; and Professor James McCormack, a pharmaceutical scientist.
The group has called on Parliament to conduct an independent inquiry into the safety of medicines. A spokesman for the Association of the british Pharmaceutical Industry said: ‘All medicines undergo rigorous testing for quality, safety and efficacy by global regulators.
‘The data is also subject to continuous scrutiny during trials, once licensed and throughout the life of the medicine, including after a patent has expired.’ A spokesman for nhS England last night declined to comment on the allegations.
‘Time for real collective action’