Did Big Pharma team up to kill British Columbia's drug safety watchdog?

Was the provincial government pressured by deep-pocketed pharmaceutical conglomerates to kill off the Therapeutics Initiative, an internationally acclaimed drug watchdog agency run out of UBC?That theory may sound like an outlandish plot from a Hollywood movie, but it gained some credibility during this spring’s provincial election when it was raised by NDP leader Adrian Dix.He said the “influential” pharmaceutical industry, which donates to and lobbies the B.C. Liberals, incessantly pressured the government to shut down the Therapeutics Initiative (TI).The TI is a small agency of university scientists who study the safety and efficiency of prescription drugs offered to B.C. residents through Pharmacare. It is one of the few independent organizations in North America that analyzes what’s in our medicine cabinets.It has been hobbled for nearly a year, since the province cut its funding and blocked access to crucial patient data as part of a high-profile breach of privacy investigation.The privacy investigation led to the firing of seven Health Ministry employees engaged in pharmaceutical drug research, but none of them worked at the TI.Dix vowed an NDP government would revive the TI. “It is saving lives, it is saving money, and it is providing an independent voice in an area which is incredibly one-sided,” he said in a recent interview.•The TI, which questions the safety and efficiency of prescription drugs, claims pharmaceutical companies and people they influen...
Source: PharmaGossip - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs