Mals Musings: Please regulate us now!
The pharma industry cannot operate without public trust, but our trust accounts are dangerously depleted. The rescue package: more regulation.
By on Jan 25, 2010The pharma industry cannot operate without public trust, but our trust accounts are dangerously depleted. The rescue package: more regulation.
In the financial industry, we have regulators who look after consumers. In short, it is because we do not trust the financial industry, and the fiasco of the last year is a case in point. Given the negative reputation this industry has, we all understand why they are tightly regulated, and most would welcome an increase in the amount of regulation they face. However, why do we need to have the pharma industry so tightly regulated? And perhaps more alarming, the level of regulation in pharma has increased in recent years. Is it time to reverse the trend with regulation in the industry? Perhaps, but maybe we need to get our house in order first.
It is fair to assume that our heavy regulation is aimed at protecting the vulnerable public from profit-chasing pharma executives. Unfortunately for us, despite the lives we save and improve, we are amongst the least trusted industries. Let us review our record to decipher if the lack of trust is justified. We are a R&D-based scientific industry, identifying, developing and manufacturing products that improve the quality of life for people. On this basis, I am tempted to say governments should do everything they can to accelerate our ability to bring our innovations to market. However, we have demonstrated numerous times that our drive for profits might be exerting a greater influence on our decisions than the desire to save lives
As a result, we are reluctant to withdraw products from the market even when the safety profile is questionable. We have been caught being not totally honest with results from clinical studies that are unfavourable, and increasingly our R&D efforts are geared towards me-too solutions rather than real innovations. Some argue that the motivation of governments to increase regulation is equally sinister and largely due to their unwillingness to bear the spiralling cost of healthcare. It is difficult to argue that some truth does not exist in this argument, but when we take a look in the mirror there is much to be said about the way we have tarnished our image.
We have lost the one thing that is more important to us than anything else: trust. If oil companies are dishonest, I may not be able to drive my car due to cost or it might ruin my car. It is easy to see that despite the fact that this would be distressing, it pales in comparison to the products we supply. When we get it wrong, people die, suffer severe side effects and major social and financial repercussions. We simply cannot afford to operate without trust. Some of our actions have eroded the level of trust we have. Our trust bank account is almost bankrupt. The rescue package is regulation. We are actually being helped out by government regulation. Patients do not trust us, but they are more comfortable if we are made to jump through hoops by someone they do trust
It could be so different. It is not too late to rebuild and regain trust. We need to learn to do what very few industries remember: tell the truth, and act in the interests of the public that we serve, not just the shareholders. The public understands investment; it happens in every industry. But seven me-too products in the same category with no real differentiation is not driven by a desire to heal ailment but to make a quick buck. To regain trust, we need to go beyond what is being asked of us and take the lead as the world is crying out for ethical industries and organisations. We are best placed to do this. We should be honest about the results of our research, seek innovation in areas where it is needed, and be more conservative about safety than the authorities and the public. It is time to swing the pendulum in the other direction. The public are increasingly finding it difficult to deal with an overly commercial pharmaceutical sector. The signs are there for those that care to take note.