New research accuses Big Pharma of interference and influence in Poland

Drugs that do not represent value for money or are medically unproven may be increasingly reaching one of Europe’s largest pharmaceutical markets, according to research undertaken by Cambridge sociologist Lawrence King. Prof King and colleagues Dr Piotr Ozieranski (University of Leicester) and Prof Martin McKee (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) found that multinational drug companies are deploying their massive financial resources to capture stakeholders at every stage of the process for the scientific recommendation of drugs in Poland.

Through direct and indirect methods, many of which remain hidden from public view, some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies, as well as politicians, are exercising influence over the drug evaluation program in Poland – which is overseen by the Polish Agency for Health Technology Assessment (AHTAPol). These findings are published in the December issue of Health Policy.

Prof King and his colleagues conducted more than 100 interviews with people on all sides of the process, as well drawing data from more than 270 scientific recommendations on drugs issued by the AHTAPol, which Poland’s Minister for Health recently announced is in line to be replaced.