Governments heavily influenced by pharmaceutical companies.
According to ‘The Times’ this ‘best buddy system’ will work in the following way: Ministers will be paired up with companies they already have existing relationships with. The following ministers will be paired up in the following manor:
‘Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, will act as what officials are calling “an account director” to Britain’s oil and gas giants Shell, BP and BG. David Willetts, the Universities and Science Minister, will be the contact for the life science companies GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis and Astro Zeneca. General Electric will be paired with Lord Green.
Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary, will deal with information and communication technology companies. Mark Prisk, the Business and Enterprise Minister, will deal with automotive companies active in the UK, including Jaguar Land Rover owned by Tata, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, General Motors and BMW, as well as aerospace companies.
Lord Sassoon, the former investment banker who is Commercial Secretary to the Treasury, will also play a role.’
All very cozy don’t you agree? Next it will be sleepovers and pajama parties! In my opinion this is not only abuse of power but even more proof that direct conflicts of interest between the UK government and the pharmaceutical industry have existed for quite a while.
To read the story in full http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article3172894.ece payment is required.
You can read the first half of the article here http://twitpic.com/6owe5o
The first time I became aware of conflicts of interest existing, was when Lisa Blakemore-Brown brought to my attention that Professor Roy Meadow had attended meetings as a member of the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) in the 1980’s. The JCVI is a Standing Advisory Committee with statutory responsibilities to advise Ministers on vaccines and vaccine policies.
Papers released under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that Professor Roy Meadow sat on various meetings as a member of the JCVI discussing whether vaccines were responsible for the rise in the number of babies dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The documents alone indicate that Prof Meadow was fully aware of the harmful affects that vaccines can have on children. Despite his involvement in these meetings however, he gave evidence as an Expert Witness in MSBP cases where babies have died very shortly after vaccine, while stating that vaccines ‘could not’ have attributed to their death.
As it turns out Professor Meadow is not the only member of the JCVI with conflicts of interest. This is what Lisa Blakemore-Brown wrote in the comments section on ‘The Times’ on 20th July 2007,
Professor Sir Roy Meadow also works in the area of vaccine research in which cot death is one of the adverse reactions.
On 6th July 1988 in Room 1611/12 Market Towers, he sat with others including Professor Elizabeth Miller, epidemiologist for the vaccine programme and Dr David Salisbury, with a similar remit at the Department of Health in the Joint Sub Committee on Adverse Reactions to vaccines and immunisation.
During these meetings held over many years, deaths of babies were routinely discussed.
Leading medics have written to other medics about three and four children dying in one family within one area where the rate of cot death was much higher than in other parts of the country. At least two families reported how the deaths followed vaccines.
So why is a vaccine reaction, clearly well known to the inner medical circle, NEVER mentioned as part of the differential diagnosis?
Even now Hey and Bacon fail to even mention it.
Its time the public knew about all this
Lisa Blakemore-Brown, London, UK
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article2106255.ece
Read the documents in full below
http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/53/12/04135312.pdf
http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/53/13/04135313.pdf
http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/53/15/04135315.pdf
http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/53/16/04135316.pdf
These Professionals are not alone as many of the JCVI committee members have conflicts of interest which the public rarely get to know about as shown in this link: http://www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/jcvi/mins210606.htm
If we read carefully through we can see that several members of the JCVI declare certain ties and interests ascertaining to the pharmaceutical industry. Despite declaring these interests they carry on taking part in the meeting regardless. This hardly makes them independent now does it?
Lucy Johnston journalist for the Sunday Express shows further evidence of committee members having financial ties to the pharmaceutical industries here http://www.theoneclickgroup.co.uk/documents/vaccines/media/Sunday%20Express%20-%20JAB%20Makers%20linked%20to%20vaccine%20programme.pdf
She wrote:
“Inquiries by the Sunday Express have revealed that at least two members –received grants or travel fees from Wyeth and Merk, two vaccine manufacturers.Another carries out research funded by Sanofi Pasteur, while several have paid consultancy posts from pharmaceutical companies such as Merk, GlaxoSmithKline, Roche and Novartis.”
In an article entitled ‘The pharmaceutical industry as a political player’ by John Abraham he explains that many of the scientists used to regulate and control vaccine and drug policies have previously worked for the pharmaceutical industries:
“Pharmaceutical firms have well-oiled lobbying strategies to capture regulatory agencies: more subtlely, industry can penetrate into the heart of regulatory political subculture via the so-called revolving door,i.e., regulatory officials begin their careers in industry, then work for some years in the regulatory agency until they are promoted back into industry at a higher level than they were at previously. In the UK, a large proportion of scientists in the British drug regulatory authority started their careers in industry, and many move back there.” http://healthandpharma.awardspace.com/Week%201%20Readings/Abrahamson%20The%20Pharma%20Industry.pdf
If he is right then scientists may be using this method as a way of gaining early promotion.
The UK government is not alone in being ‘palls’ with the pharmaceutical industry. The USA government has also been more than a little friendly. I have found that many of America’s leading government figures have massive conflicts of interest that they have kept very quiet about.
I will begin with Governor Rick Perry as he has been in the news recently for trying to mandate the HPV Gardasil in the state of Texas. At first one may be fooled into believing that Perry tried to mandate a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer out of genuine concern for the health of the young women of America, that is until we delve a little deeper and find out why.
According to a report by the ‘Political Hot Sheet’ an ad created by a political action committee supporting Michele Bachmann, has knocked Perry for his ties to people affiliated with the drug’s manufacturer, Merck, including Perry’s wife, Anita. They say:
“According to a 2000 article in the Austin Chronicle, Anita Perry worked with Merck to launch a public education campaign for osteoporosis screenings.” http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20110261-503544.html
Last week I wrote an article called ‘The Poison Dart They Call Gardasil’. I wrote that SANE Vax Inc. had recently sent a certified letter to the FDA Commissioner, Dr. Margaret Hamburg. The letter contained some very disturbing and appalling information and requested the FDA to investigate immediately the extent of the HPV DNA contamination found in the Gardasil HPV4 vaccine that is currently on the market and take appropriate actions to ensure public safety regarding future shipments. This was after the HPV vaccine Gardasil was found to be contaminated with HPV DNA. http://vactruth.com/2011/09/22/the-poison-dart-they-call-gardasil/
It is highly unlikely Hamburg will act on this news however, because it appears that she to is very well connected with Merck. In July 2011 ‘Medical Marketing Media’ announced that Hamburg had decided to give Dr. Stephen Spielberg, MD, PhD former Merck and Johnson & Johnson scientist the new post of deputy commissioner for medical products and tobacco as part of a sweeping reorganization of the agency’s management structure. http://www.mmm-online.com/fda-reorg-puts-an-industry-veteran-in-charge-of-drugs/article/207496/
I cannot help wondering if Dr Spielberg is an old friend because when Hamburg took on the position of FDA’s Commissioner she and her husband Peter Fitzhugh Brown had to divest investment earnings making the couple around $10 million in 2008. These earnings came mostly from her husband’s hedge-fund job with Renaissance Technologies where he is an expert in artificial intelligence, shares in Johnson & Johnson, stock in Abbott Laboratories, Merck and pharmacy manager Medco Health Solutions.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Hamburg herself needed to divest stock and options from Henry Schein, which distributed dental and medical supplies, including vaccines. The Wall Street Journal says:
“She will forfeit $100,000 to $250,000 in restricted stock and more than 11,000 unvested stock options, all of which have a strike price above market value. She will also have to sell vested stock, valued between $250,000 and $500,000.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124328188115551961.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
It appears however, that she must have got bored with her mega $150,000 a year lifestyle because she has suggested that the FDA next year should loosen certain ‘conflicts of interest’ restrictions preventing scientists who have financial ties to the drug industry from becoming members of FDA advisory panels. http://www.naturalnews.com/033361_FDA_conflicts_of_interest.html#ixzz1VO7bBgAK
If this happens not only can she boost her earnings once again but it could also mean that many more of Merck’s ex- employees could also join the FDA panel.
Strangely enough Hamburg is not the only member of the FDA and the CDC with massive ties to the pharmaceutical industry. A congressional report has shown that several panel members of the FDA and the CDC, the two influential advisory committees who make the recommendations on vaccine policy, either have financial ties to vaccine manufacturers or hold patents on vaccines under development. http://www.americanchiropractic.net/FDA/Congressional%20report%20reveals%20FDA.pdf
In 2005 a press release from the Center For Science identified that a total of 17 FDA panel members had either received research support or had financial ties with Merck. http://www.conquerchiari.org/subs%20only/volume%203/issue%203%283%29/fda%20conflict%20of%20interest%203%283%29.asp
Interestingly these facts were borne out further, when vaccine insider Dr Paul Offit from the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania (CHOP) and member of the CDC advisory committee disclosed that he received a $350,000 grant from Merck to develop the rotavirus vaccine, which he developed alongside Merck. He now shares the patent for Merck’s anti diarrhoea vaccine Rotateq. The Wall Street Journal has stated that Dr Offit is in fact paid to go around the country teaching doctors that vaccines are safe. Read Lawmakers sever ties between CDC and Big Pharma: http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/drugs-medical/CDC_Big_Pharma-00285.html
CBS News have also has been speaking out on just what Dr Offit has been up to. They have told viewers that Dr Paul Offitt is probably the most widely known defender of vaccine safety. CBS say that Offitt also belongs to the American Academy of Paediatrics, which according to them receives millions of dollars from the vaccine industry for conferences, grants, and medical education classes. Amazingly, it was finance from the vaccine industry that helped the academy build their headquarters. The CBS state that in fact Offit holds a $1.5 million research chair at the children’s hospital completely funded by Merck. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT7QHlOTCOU
CBS News also told viewers that Merck actually contributed $433,000 to the academy the same year that the academy endorsed Merck’s HPV vaccine Gardasil! Offit of course backs the Gardasil vaccine to the hilt saying that the results of the CDC research was really reassuring adding “There’s a public perception that the vaccine is not safe. This is important for countering negative information.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/22/AR2008102203058.html
If this is not bad enough the list of USA government conflicts of interest just grow and grow. Bill Gates has been found to have very strong links with Merck. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Merck & Co., Inc. and the Republic of Botswana recently announced the establishment of the Botswana Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnership. This is a new initiative to improve the overall state of HIV/AIDS care and treatment in Botswana. http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/25137-The-Bill-Melinda-Gates-Foundation-Merck-Co-Inc-and-The-Republic-of-Botswana-Launch-New-HIV-Initiative
Many believe that Gates plans to do this by introducing a mandatory HIV/AIDA vaccine.
My research has found that Even President Barack Obama’s has strong alliances to big pharma. It has been published that his choice for U.S. Surgeon General is CNN journalist Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a pro-vaccine pusher with ties to Merck.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is a strong proponent of the Gardasil HPV vaccine, and the television show he once hosted (“Accent Health”) was primarily sponsored by Merck, makers of Gardasil. http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000649_Dr_Sanjay_Gupta_Obama_Surgeon_General.html
In fact Obama’s ties go on and on because his nominee at the Department of Homeland Security overseeing bioterrorism defense has served as a key adviser for a lobbying group funded by the pharmaceutical industry that has asked the government to spend more money for anthrax vaccines and biodefense research. I am sure that they will oblige especially when yet another vaccine is on the horizon. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/08/obama-nominee-omitted-ties-to-biotech/print/
Currently the USA recommends 68 mandated vaccines from birth to 18yrs. These are vaccines recommended by the USA government for all American children. If a child has not had the recommended vaccines they face being refused entry to kindergarten and school. Yet despite the highest intake of antibiotics and vaccines of any group of children in history, American children are far from healthy.
It strikes me that as our children get sicker big pharma get richer. They do this with the full assistance from our governments. This of course suits big pharma because there is no profit in healthy children is there?
Photo Credit: Stuart Miles