Malaysians for Clinical Trials of New Drugs

Kathirasen on Sunday (of The New Sunday Times) made some disturbing and spine chilling assertions against the pharmaceutical industry in his latest article "Trust my mother, you are not ill". In this compelling piece, he wrote:

"... Now, it appears, pharmaceutical firms have not only been manufacturing medicine but also some of the myriad ailments afflicting people.

Could that explain why the pharmaceutical industry is one of the most profitable in the world?

In 2000, worldwide drug sales reached an astronomical US$365 billion (RM1.5 trillion).

In the latest report in the journal Public Library of Science (Medicine), scientists and doctors accuse the pharmaceutical industry of disease-mongering.

The guest editors of the series of 11 papers, professor of clinical pharmocology at Australia’s Newcastle University, Dr David Henry, and journalist Ray Moynihan, describe disease-mongering as "the opportunistic exploitation of both a widespread anxiety about frailty and a faith in scientific advance and innovation".

Among the examples they cited: Menopause (a natural human phenomenon turned into a medical problem); mild problems portrayed as serious illnesses, such as irritable bowel syndrome; and risk factors, such as high cholesterol and osteoporosis, framed as diseases.

If the above doesn't scare the shit out of you, you should read Robin Cook and Michael Palmer's medical thrillers to know the "tricks" the HMOs and pharmaceutical industry are capable of resorting to, all in the interest of profitability.

Don't like to read? Then go watch John Le Carre's Constant Gardener in movie format. I watched it 2 weeks ago. In this movie, the young wife of a British diplomat (Tessa) was brutally murdered for going against a multinational drug company that uses helpless Africans as guinea pigs to test a tuberculosis remedy with unfortunately fatal side effects.

This "dark side of the industry" theory may be more real than we think.

Dr. Ray Strand in his book "What Your Doctor Doesn't Know About Nutritional Medicine May Be Killing You" suggested that the pharmaceutical industry has a hand in almost every aspect of a physician's practice, including his education. In the introduction pages of this book, Strand wrote:

"... the education of most physicians is disease-oriented with a heavy emphasis on pharmaceuticals - we learn about drugs and why and when to use them.

Back in 1998, The Journal of American Medical Association reported that properly prescribed medication, prescribed and taken properly, is the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S. If unprescribed medication is included, this becomes the third-leading cause of death! Caution?

It is no wonder that the Peter Parkers' spider sense are tingling. Unfortunately, not many have this super sense. Not our Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis, for sure. The closest credit I give him is a spider sized brain for this!

Further down in the book, Dr. Strand also wrote:

Take a look at the amount of money the medical community and the pharmaceutical industry have made by lowering cholestrol with synthetic drugs. Billions and billions of dollars roll in each and every year. Have you ever considered who educated you about the risk of high cholestrol? Who is taking out that full-page ad in USA Today to tell you the importance of lowering your cholesterol? Pharmaceutical companies. Why hasn't someone taken out a TV or newspaper ad to inform you about the importance of lowering your homocysteine? There is not nearly as much money to be made in the sale of vitamin B12, vitamin B6, and folic acid. Sad to say, we are caught in the ripple effects of the economics of medicine.

... "People don't make a profit preventing disease. They make a profit through medicine - treating critical, advanced stages of disease."

Read also Dr. Ray Strand's interview with Mike Adams of Truth Publishing.

As if the above isn't scary and disturbing enough, we now have our spider-sized brain of a Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis promoting Malaysia as a biotechnology destination, particularly as a place to conduct clinical trials for new drugs being developed by global pharmaceutical companies. This Minister must have been on dope when he made this invitation at the Bio ChicagoInternational Convention 2006.

Is he serious about offering Malaysians as guinea pigs to the industry? Did he think through, opps ... what can we possibly expect from a spider-sized brain, the ramifications of this sell-out?

We should all rally behind the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) who is calling on the Minister to rescind his invitation to global pharmaceutical firms to make clinical trials of their products in Malaysia.