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Tough on Crime? Pfizer and the CIHR
TOUGH ON CRIME? PFIZER AND THE CIHR
Robert G. Evans
Healthcare Policy, 5(4) 2010: 16-25
Abstract
The appointment of Dr. Bernard Prigent, vice-president and medical director of Pfizer Canada, to the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, outraged many Canadian health researchers. Pfizer has been a "habitual offender," persistently engaging in illegal and corrupt marketing practices, bribing physicians and suppressing adverse trial results. Since 2002 the company and its subsidiaries have been assessed $3 billion in criminal convictions, civil penalties and jury awards. The $2.3-billion settlement in September 2009 – a month before Dr. Prigent's appointment – set a new record for both criminal fines and total penalties. A link with Pfizer might well advance the commercialization of Canadian research – unhindered by law or morality. Is that now the only mandate, Dr. Beaudet?
PFIZER LOBBYIST OR PUBLIC SERVANT
Bernard Prigent is the Vice President and Medical Director of Pfizer Canada. He is also a registered Pfizer lobbyist (per the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying), and as of October 2009, a member of the CIHR Governing Council. In response to allegations of conflict of interest, the chair of the CIHR Standing Committee on Ethics, Dr. Harry Chochinov, insists that "Governing Council members are not there to promote their own vested interests or those associated with their specific...affiliations." Surely this expectation conflicts with that of Pfizer Canada.
Dr. Prigent, in his role as one of several lobbyists for Pfizer Canada, is expected to influence how health research dollars are allocated. CIHR is among the target organizations. According to Pfizer Canada, its lobbying efforts are aimed at the "CIHR and other research oriented spending programs as it relates to private/public research and development partnerships" and to "advocate for the development of a Biopharma sectoral strategy in support of more research and development in Canada."
This is a classic instance of conflict of interest. How can a senior officer and lobbyist for Pfizer Canada represent the public interest as a member of the Governing Council of an organization that he is paid to influence?
THE GOVERNMENT'S PERSPECTIVE
During the question period on April 16, 2010, Member of Parliament Megan Leslie (NDP - Halifax, NS) asked a series of probing questions of Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq (Conservative - Nunavut, NU) regarding the appointment of Dr. Prigent to the CIHR Governing Council.
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Questions on the Order paper
Routine Proceedings
12:10 p.m.
NDP
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 Megan Leslie Halifax, NS
With respect to the appointment to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Governing Council of Dr. Bernard Prigent, Vice President and Medical Director of Pfizer Canada:
(a) as per the requirements for Order in Council (OIC) selection processes, what were the selection criteria developed to outline qualifications required for the position in question;
(b) as per the requirements for OIC selection processes, how was the pool of suitable candidates reached....
To read the full version, click here.
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Questions on the Order paper
Routine Proceedings
12:10 p.m.
Nunavut
Nunavut
Conservative
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Leona Aglukkaq Minister of Health
a) Section 7(4) of the CIHR Act states that: “the governor in council shall appoint as members of the Governing Council women and men who are able to contribute to the achievement of the objective of the CIHR in the overall interests of Canadians. The governor in council shall consider appointing women and men who reflect the highest standards of scientific excellence and women and men who reflect a range of relevant backgrounds and disciplines.” When making appointments, the governor in council also takes into consideration the government's policy commitment of the science and technology strategy which states: “As the government fills vacancies on the councils’ governing bodies, it will seek out more business and community representation to ensure that the composition of granting council governing bodies reflects Canada’s broad economic and national interests.”
A key consideration for the GIC is the CIHR mandate, which, as outlined in the CIHR Act, includes “accelerating the discovery of cures and treatments” as well as “facilitating the commercialization of health research in Canada and promoting economic development through health research”. As such, Dr. Prigent has been appointed as an individual for his skills and experience, including international clinical experience and personal competencies......
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Dr. Prigent was recommended to the Minister of Health by Dr. Alain Beaudet, President of CIHR. Read the full Inquiry of Ministry response on this appointment.
The following letters were sent to the recepients in response to their letters protesting Dr. Prigent's appointment, and posted here with their permission.
JUST IN TIME
HEALTHY RESEARCH?
A diverse panel of experts debates the implications of the pharmaceutical industry influence from the laboratory to the marketplace.
Monday February 15, 2010. 7 - 9 PM
Alumni Hall, University of King's College
View the Event Poster
NEWS & COMMENTARIES: RADIO
Information Morning, February 15, 2010, Françoise Baylis
CIHR and Pfizer, The Current, CBC Radio One, December 9, 2009 - Interviews with Jocelyn Downie and Jean Rouleau.
A bitter pill to swallow. As It Happens, CBC Radio One interviews Trudo Lemmens, Associate Professor, Faculty Of Medicine, University of Toronto, November 24, 2009
NEWS & COMMENTARIES: PRINT
Feds found Pfizer too big to nail, Drew Griffin & Andy Segal, CNN Special Investigations Unit, April 2, 2010
Federal granting agencies get more appointees from outside academe. Rosanna Tamburri, University Affairs, February 8, 2010
Bernard Prigent, Pfizer's inside man, Tim Bousquet, The Coast, February 4, 2010
Neoliberalism, conflict of interest, and the governance of health research in Canada, Steven Lewis, Open Medicine 4(1), 28-30, February 2, 2010
Pharmaceutical industry representation on CIHR's governing council. William Ghali, Claire Kendall, Anita Palepu. Open Medicine 4(1), 26-27, February 2, 2010
Whose Bread You Eat, His Song You Sing: Why doctors and researchers should take a pass on drug industry money. Arthur Schafer, Canadian Dimension, January 7, 2010
Pfizer eyes Canada, Alan Cassels, Common Ground, January 2010
Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada - Le renvoi du représentant de Pfizer est réclamé. Pauline Gravel, Le Devoir, December 18, 2009
Well I Declare: The Emasculation of Conflict-of-Interest. Steven Lewis, Longwoods Publishing, December 14, 2009
Appointment of Dr. Bernard Prigent to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Governing Council (GC). Arya M. Sharma, December 2009
Pfizer exec on research panel riles scientists, Margaret Munro, Canada.com (Canwest News Service), December 8, 2009
MPs reject bid to quash drug council appointment. Mia Rabson, Winnipeg Free Press, December 8, 2009
Where There's Smoke, There's Pfizer: Sparks Fly over Recent CIHR Appointment. Steven Lewis. Longwoods Publishing, December 8, 2009.
The man from Pfizer: Should Big Pharma help steer health research? Andre Picard, The Globe and Mail, December 3, 2009
"If the Canadian Institutes of Health Research exists to promote the public interest, why has a VP at Pfizer been named to its governing body?
An Intractable Conflict of Interest, Françoise Baylis, The Mark, December 2, 2009
Appointment of Pfizer executive to health funding body criticized, Anna Sharratt, CBC News, November 27, 2009
Drug-company appointment 'quite inappropriate', Christina Spencer, Sun Media, November 23, 2009
Federal committee to review Pfizer appointment, Ann Silversides, Canadian Medical Association Journal, November 19, 2009. DOI: 10.1503.dmaj.209-3113
La recherche publique contrôlée par l'industrie? Pauline Gravel, Le Devoir, November 19, 2009
Appointment of Pfizer executive to CIHR stirs controversey, Ann Silversides, Canadian Medical Association Journal, October 26, 2009, DOI:10.1503/cmaj.109-3085
CIHR News Release - October 5, 2009 - Health Minister Aglukkaq announces appointment.
NEWS BLOGS
On Writing Letters to the Government, www.James-Strocel.com, January 21, 2010
Get that Pfizer out of my CIHR, bayblab, December 23, 2009
Where there is smoke, there is Pfizer, Udo Schuklenk's Ethx Blog, December 11, 2009
4,000 Canadians vs Pfizer, PharmaGossip, December 11, 2009
More on appointment of Pfizer exec to CIHR board, Rob Annan, Research Forum, December 10, 2009
Pfizer conflict controversey continues, Stuart Laidlaw, Medical Ethics blog, thestart.com, December 9, 2009
Should Pfizer VP sit on CIHR Governing Council, The Research Ethics Blog, November 28, 2009
A Petition to Keep Pfizer Exec off Canadian Board, Ed Silverman, Pharmalot, November 25, 2009
PARLIAMENT RESPONDS
Meeting No. 49 HESA (Amended) - Standing Committee on Health, 3:30 p.m. December 7, 2009.
Read the presentation transcripts to the committee by:
Full meeting transcript
Jocelyn Downie, Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy, Professor of Law and Medicine, Dalhousie University;
Trudo Lemmens, Associate Professor at the Faculties of Law and Medicine of the University of Toronto.
Letter to the Editor, Carolyn Bennett MP, Canadian Medical Association Journal, December 1, 2009
Meeting No. 47 HESA - Standing Committee on Health, November 30, 2009. Review of Order in Council appointment of Bernard Michael Prigent to the position of member of the Governing Council of the Canadian institutes of Health Research. (Note: This topic begins at the 60 minute mark of the 2 hour recorded meeting.)
Extracts from the meeting - Open Medicine 4(1), 31-39, February 2, 2010
Full meeting transcript
Drug VP should not sit on health council, New Democratic Party Communications, November 16, 2009
Notice of Motion. Submitted by Judy Wasylycia-Leis, MP to the Standing Committee on Health, November 13, 2009
ETHICS AT CIHR
Media Advisory, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, December 7, 2009
Baylis asks the Ethics member of CIHR Governing Council why the strong reservations expressed by the CIHR Institute Advisory Board Ethics Designates and the members of the CIHR Standing Committee on Ethics were set aside. Letter to Dr. Harvey Chochinov, December 1, 2009
Dr. Chochinov 's response to Professor Baylis and his memo and letter to the CIHR Standing Comittee on Ethics (November 26, 2009)
The Values and Ethics of Partnering, CIHR Workshop, Ethics policy on partnerships with for-profit private sector, Doug Davidge PWGSC, March 19, 2007
PFIZER
Canadian Class Action Law Suit Against Pfizer. Off label use of Neurontin. CBC The National, February 22, 2010
Using a Pfizer Grant, Courses Aim to Avoid Bias, Duff Wilson, The New York Times, January 11, 2010
Pfizer Doesn't Want You to See this Video, Ed Silverman, Pharmalot, December 16, 2009
.jpg) Big Pharma's Crime Spree, David Evans, Bloomberg Markets, Bloomberg.com, December 2009
Record Pfizer 2.3 Billion Fraud Settlement, Katherine Harmon, Health & Medicine, September 3, 2009
Pfizer Fact Sheet, Stop Medicare Fraud, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and U.S. Department of Justice
Pfizer is at it again, Udo Schuklenk's Ethx Blog, November 12, 2009
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