European Patient Groups, the pharmaceutical industry and funding

Given that patient and consumer groups are increasingly involved in as stakeholders and experts in management and scientific committees at the European Medicines Agency, one activist group decided to survey corporate sponsorship and compliance with disclosure requirements. Health Action International canvassed 23 groups, including those concerned with AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer and diabetes, to gauge financial ties between 2006 and 2008. Here is the study and this is what was found: Two-thirds of the groups working with the EMA received partial or significant funding from drugmakers or industry associations. All in all, 15 organizations received between 0.2 percent and 99 percent of their annual income from corporate sources, while seven were funded entirely from alternative sources.
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