[lit-ideas] Re: Pharma Spies
- From: "Andy Amago" <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 1 Jun 2005 22:44:27 -0400
> [Original Message]
> From: Carol Kirschenbaum <carolkir@xxxxxxxx>
> To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 6/1/2005 3:25:19 PM
> Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Pharma Spies
>
>
> > The problem isn't so much in direct marketing, so to speak, but in how
> > much access and influence pharma has in both Congress and the White
House.
>
> ck: I wasn't referring to "direct marketing," as you probably know, but
to
> public perception, to which Congress is acutely attuned. Politicos have
an
> easier time pushing through legislation when their constituents aren't
> opposed. This is how corporate government works to increase its wealth
and
> power with minimal opposition.
I disagree. My personal sense is that unless it's a very big issue like
SS, lawmakers take for granted that Joe Average doesn't know and doesn't
care and has no money to contribute to reelection campaigns. He is,
therefore, ignored. On the other hand, pharma, among others, funds
reelections and cares deeply. They all but sit in on committee meetings,
and some actually do. Many Congress people become pharma execs and
lobbyists. Congress does whatever they and their financial supporters want
to do without a thought to the electorate. If the system worked otherwise,
the results would be otherwise, not the least of which is FDA worrying
about pharma's bottom line instead of drug safety.
I wonder how long it will take them to get Viagra off the market and how/if
the trial award cap will affect class action suits.
Andy
> Best,
> Carol
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Andy Amago" <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 6:34 AM
> Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Pharma Spies
>
>
> > The problem isn't so much in direct marketing, so to speak, but in how
> > much
> > access and influence pharma has in both Congress and the White House.
> > Effectively, they write whatever legislation they want. I suspect,
> > though,
> > that they're not worried. BTW, has anyone seen anything in the media
> > about
> > Viagra causing blindness? I haven't. I was wondering if anyone else
has.
> > Imagine going blind from using Viagra and recovering a whopping
$250,000,
> > before attorneys' fees, for it. Nah, like I said, pharma isn't worried
> > about a thing.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >> [Original Message]
> >> From: Carol Kirschenbaum <carolkir@xxxxxxxx>
> >> To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >> Date: 6/1/2005 2:49:51 AM
> >> Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Pharma Spies
> >>
> >> Hi Marlena,
> >> Why posit Big Pharma shutting down bloggers when it can use them
instead?
> >> By monitoring bloggers (et al), pharma's marketing gets valuable info
for
> >> its disinformational ad and PR campaigns. You know, find out what
people
> > are
> >> complaining about and then pull a Bush--deny, deflect, and reframe the
> >> argument, preferably before the people are screaming to major media.
> >>
> >> But perhaps I'm a tad cynical by now...
> >> Best,
> >> Carol
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: <Eternitytime1@xxxxxxx>
> >> To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >> Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 10:07 PM
> >> Subject: [lit-ideas] Pharma Spies
> >>
> >>
> >> > Hi,
> >> > This is from the blog from the bioethics.net site...as we have
> > discussed
> >> > Big
> >> > Pharma in the past, I thought it relevant. I suppose there will be
> > even
> >> > more people monitoring Our List.
> >> >
> >> > I had not heard of "i-reputation" ... is it a data-mining software of
> > some
> >> > sort?
> >> >
> >> > Wondering what sort of pay a Pharma Spy gets,
> >> > Marlena (usually in Missouri)
> >> >
> >> > Bloggers: Be Afraid [of Pharma Spies] - Be Very Afraid
> >> >
> >> > Financial Times reports that leading pharmaceutical companies have
> > figured
> >> > out how to "'spy' on internet conversations about medicines, and they
> > are
> >> > going
> >> > to be reading blogs. Already our server logs record dozens of hits a
> >> > day
> >> > from pharma companies (hey, works for me - read bioethics all day
> > long,
> >> > guys!),
> >> > but the new software, called "i-reputation," is on a whole new
scale,
> >> > raising
> >> > the ire of lots of folks in the Internet community. Tough to see why
> >> > pharmaceutical folks reading blogs would be problematic, since after
> > all
> >> > blogs are
> >> > public, but it is easy to see what the concentrated strength of
> >> > pharmaceutical companies could do to suppress something that Big
Pharma
> >> > doesn't want to
> >> > see in blogdom.
> >> > Health bloggers have the capacity right now to operate under the
radar
> >> > screen
> >> > of big corporations, or at least to do so to some degree, because the
> >> > readership is a small and dedicated sampling of people who cannot
get
> >> > enough news,
> >> > or who are looking for very specific information from Google (that
> > latter
> >> > group makes up roughly 75% of our readership, for example). But
> >> > blogdom
> >> > germinates ideas that eventually become threatening to powerful
> >> > corporations and
> >> > others with clout - and so the same technology that made blogs so
> >> > accessible will
> >> > now be reverse engineered to make blogs more vulnerable...
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
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