Deceptive Pharma Surveys: New Op-Ed by Dr. Fugh-Berman and Judy Butler
Posted in Announcements
Program Co-Director Adriane Fugh-Berman and Judy Butler recently published an op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on the dangers of deceptively-worded, pharma-funded surveys. According to their research, pharma-funded groups recently polled patients about access to Alzheimer’s drugs under Medicare in a way that concealed the pharmaceutical companies’ ultimate goal: to reduce oversight on their drugs.
In October a trio of pharma-funded groups…released a poll showing strong support for Medicare beneficiaries to have access to Alzheimer’s treatments “the same way they do for FDA-approved medications for all other diseases.”
That sounds so reasonable, but it hides a nefarious goal…The pollsters didn’t tell participants that Medicare actually does pay for Alzheimer’s treatments — lecanemab (Leqembi) and donanemab (Kisunla) — for beneficiaries with a confirmed diagnosis…the only caveat is that patients are enrolled in a registry…meant to track brain bleeds and other harms in patients taking dangerous medications. Clinical trials of these treatments included very few participants of color and only included the healthiest patients.
– Judy Butler and Adriane Fugh-Berman