How Do You Solve a Problem Like Big Pharma? We Ask a Bioethicist

"Big Pharma" — two words that Americans love to hate. When asked about the pharmaceutical industry, most of the country responds with a mix of anger and suspicion, using terms like "corporate capture," "revolving door," and "profits over people" to describe its influence, a sentiment felt even stronger after the pandemic. And yet, we are a nation that depends on their life-saving, life-improving products. Americans demand innovation from Big Pharma, but are simultaneously frustrated and mistrustful of their motives and influence. Today, we delve into our complex relationship with the pharmaceutical industry. What fuels this mistrust? Is there a better system? Joining us is bioethicist, author, and TED Talk star hailing from Penn State University Jonathan Marks, who believes it doesn’t have to be this way.Hosts:Brinda AdhikariTom JohnsonMaggie BartlettDr. Mark AbdelmalekGuest:Jonathan Marks, Director of Bioethics Program at Penn State University, lawyer, author The Perils of Partnership: Industry Influence, Institutional Integrity, and Public HealthSources:2019 pharma ranked least well regarded industryhttps://news.gallup.com/poll/266060/big-pharma-sinks-bottom-industry-rankings.aspx2023 Gallup on pharma  https://news.gallup.com/poll/510641/retail-pharmaceutical-industries-slip-public-esteem.aspxLessons from Corporate Influence in the Opioid Epidemic https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32661741/STAT on financial donations to Congresshttps://www.statnews.com/feature/prescription-politics/federal-full-data-set/NIH funds drug research https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5878010/TED TALK: Jonathan Marks: In Praise of Conflicthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf8j5LFv3nIThanks for listening! If you like us, please leave a review, rate us, and please subscribe! Got questions? Comments? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]