Big pharma poured £57m into UK patient charities which could influence NHS drug decision makers, report finds

Drug companies poured £57m into UK patient groups who research and lobby for new treatments into specific conditions – in many cases the same drugs being marketed by their donors.
An investigation by Bath University researchers into donations by big pharmaand other industry bodies found the number of donations between 2014 and 2016 rose by a third and the value more than doubled. Almost half the funding was primarily earmarked for research, or campaigning or awareness activities, the authors of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) investigation said.
They said a lack of transparency over how funding is reported means there was significant scope for this type of funding to shift the focus of major charities and policy makers into areas of commercial benefit.“Without necessarily determining the content of the funded activities, firms could shape the profiles of patient organisations through heavy investment in their external activities,” lead author Dr Piotr Ozieranski and colleagues said.The report shows that donations were largest in areas such as diabetes, blood and breast cancers, and HIV and major charities like Alzheimer’s Research UK and Cancer Research UK among the beneficiaries of research funding.
“Importantly, the biggest donors in these condition areas have recently launched several high-priced drugs,” the authors added.New drugs may only provide incremental improvements on existing treatments but command a far higher price tag when marketed.