STAT Plus: Many patient groups have deep ties to pharma but fail to disclose backing
Amid ongoing debate over the role the pharmaceutical industry plays in shaping health policy, a new analysis finds that patient groups funded by drug makers generally support corporate interests, few groups have policies governing industry backing, and transparency is often lacking.
A systematic review of 26 studies that examined patient advocacy groups found industry funding ranged from 20% to 83% of these organizations. Of those that received corporate backing, only 27% disclosed this information on their web sites. In addition, anywhere from 2% to 64% of the groups had policies concerning corporate sponsorship, according to the analysis, which was published in BMJ.
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