Europe's Pharma Regulator Officially Values Commercial Interests Over Patients' NeedsCommercial interests are valued more highly than the health and freedom of the people. The EMEA typifies medical regulatory agencies' attitude towards the people.by Heidi Stevenson13 May 2011 
The British Medical Journal (BMJ) reports that two researchers asked the European Medicinal Products Evaluation Agency (EMEA) for study data regarding two disastrous diet drugs. It took 3½ years to obtain the documentation, with the EMEA refusing several times, citing the need to protect commercial interests. Over those 3½ years, the EMEA officially stated nine times that commerical interests must be protected and refused to hand the documentation over to the researchers. They never even bothered to specify what commercial interests were at risk and did not respond to the arguments given by the BMJ. In the end, they were able to obtain the documents only by bringing in the EU Ombudsman, who viewed the records desired, recommended that the EMEA produce the documents, and issued a press release accusing the EMEA of "maladministration" for refusing access. Even then, it took 3½ months for the EMEA to agree to give access, and then it took another 6 months before they were produced. The authors of the BMJ article, Peter C Gøtzsche and Anders W Jørgensen, of the Nordic Cochrane Center, stated: There is something fundamentally wrong with our priorities in healthcare if commercial success depends on withholding data that are important for rational decision making by doctors and patients. They concluded bluntly: The effect on weight loss in the published trials is small, and the harms are substantial. People have died from cardiac and pulmonary complications or have experienced psychiatric disturbances, including suicidal events, and most of the drugs have been deregistered for safety reasons. Of course, the question that must be asked is: Why does the EMEA value the commerical interests of Big Pharma over the needs of patients? The answer is much the same as in the United States' FDA. There are very cozy financial relationships between the agencies and those they're supposed to regulate. The most recent obvious example was the resignation of the EMEA's executive director, Thomas Lonngren, with the announcement that he'd be advising Big Pharma on new medicine development and how to reduce the time it takes to bring products to market. The EMEA board green-lighted the move with the claim that there was no conflict of interest. Yet, how could there not be? This is the laissez faire world of faked pharmaceutical regulation. Of course the members of the agency left behind don't mind when the director leaves for a cushy position helping Big Pharma slip their poisons products through more easily. They're part of the corrupt system, brought in by previous corrupt people who've left to make their fortunes. If those left behind hope to get rich, too, then they need to play the game. People die because of this corruption! By valuing Big Pharma's profits over the welfare of patients, an attitude is fostered that says we have neither the right nor the need to know the truth about drug trials or the data collected. All the people are entitled to are the claims of the pharmaceutical companies and the rubber-stamping of those whose palms are greased. We're supposed to sit back, smile, and above all, we are not supposed to question the legitimacy of what they do. After all, if you aren't a player in the game, then you're expected to be a good consumer of the meadow muffins they're sending your way. And, since Big Pharma has taken so much control over the agencies that are supposed to protect us, we are now losing our right to manage our own health through herbs, supplements, and nutrition—making us that much more susceptible to the power behind the throne: Big Pharma. The situation now is frightening. Medicinal herbs, until now a birthright, are being treated as drugs. They're now considered illegal, unless a specific brand-named product has been approved through a process that's so expensive and difficult that only those with deep pockets can manage it. Vitamins are to be diluted to such a degree that they're a farce. Nutrition claims are becoming illegal unless they've been approved by an agency controlled by Big Pharma. The reason for it all is simple: Commercial interests are valued more highly than the health and freedom of the people. In this system, people are nothing more than consumers—and are not even entitled to information that can make them intelligent consumers. ***************************************************************************** *****************************************************************************
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