Warning over Big Pharma’s ‘back door’ lobbying via patient groups
Consumer health groups that receive pharma sponsorship could be put under pressure to promote benefits and access to certain drugs, say public health experts
Public health experts have warned that millions of dollars poured into community health groups by Big Pharma could be a “back door” to direct advertising to patients.
Between 2013 to 2016, pharmaceutical companies spent over $34.5 million supporting 230 health consumer groups, according to an editorial in Australian Prescriber.
