Viagra Conclusions
Arguably, pharmaceutical manufacturers have become “deeply enmeshed” in the process that determines which drugs we use and when, why and how we use them (Greider, 2003; Cockburn 54 and Henderson, 1996). Critics, including Marcia Angell, former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, have argued that the shift from the academic to the commercial sector has given the industry too much control over clinical drug-trial design, data analysis and publishing (Angell, 2000). My findings, taken primarily from the medical literature, suggest that the corporate infiltration of medicine, often done through the manipulation of scientific research, is prevalent. Clearly, current safeguards towards unbiased medical information are lacking. These findings also suggest that expert opinions may be ‘cloaked’ marketing. Hence, funding may supply scientific support for a drug which can then appease regulators, and allow sales. What do these findings say about medicine and the medical profession today? It appears that through key funding of certain researchers and publications, Pfizer made erectile dysfunction into a legitimate disease and Viagra into a legitimate treatment without necessarily going through the most prestigious channels. Obviously, some medical professionals played a role, but not the general medical profession as a whole. From my analysis, I argue that Relman’s medicalindustrial complex is supported by this case, and that unfortunately this does not bode well for our society, and increasingly for other societies worldwide. The case of Pfizer’s Viagra illustrates that today’s market-oriented, profit-driven health care industry can be influenced from the top down simply due to funding of the right researchers and marketing teams. This results in potentially fatal results for some patients when compounds are not screened properly prior to approval by regulatory agencies, when side effects are overshadowed by manufacturers, and when paid researchers are keen on increasing sales of drugs through methods which are not properly assessed. It appears that we are distancing ourselves from a completely unbiased, patient-centered state of medicine which many believe still exists.
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