Secret book deal to counter Canadian drugs exposed
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《英国医生杂志》
A secret scheme to scare the US public into opposing legislation that would allow the importation of Canadian drugs—drugs that compete with expensive US drugs—has been uncovered after a book deal went sour.
The fictional book about terrorists, a bit of sex, and poisoned Canadian pills was commissioned as part of an effort to cause US citizens to worry about the safety of Canadian drugs. The US ban on importing Canadian drugs combined with the exorbitant prices of US drugs means that many patients resort to internet purchases from Canada and elsewhere.
The scheme came to light after an argument between the book's writers and its backers when one of the writers alleged that a deputy vice president of the US Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a US trade association, advanced $100 000 (￡58 000; 85 000) to commission the book.
Adding to the intrigue, the middleman who brokered the deal, Mark Barondess, a high profile divorce lawyer, was also a marketing consultant for PhRMA.
But Ken Johnson, senior vice president of communications for the trade association, denies that PhRMA directly commissioned the book. He would not acknowledge that a deputy vice president was involved in the book deal nor that Mr Barondess is a PhRMA consultant. He did say, however, that "to the best of my knowledge the book project idea was brought to an employee at PhRMA by an out-side consultant." He added that money was paid to the consultant by PhRMA.
Mr Johnson declined to confirm the identity of the deputy vice president, although she was identified as Valerie Volpe by the Philadelphia Inquirer, and one of the authors later confirmed this to the BMJ. Ms Volpe did not return calls for comment.
Mr Johnson called the book deal "an underhanded and sneaky idea." He said, "We don't need to resort to Looney Tunes. We have credible, safety based arguments against drug importation."
The secret scheme began to unravel when the book deal was scratched in July by Mr Barondess, who claimed that the manuscript was badly written.
But veteran ghostwriter, Julie Chrystyn, who was hired to write the book, and her coauthor, Kenin Spivak, a former Holly-wood executive and entrepreneur, say that PhRMA's demands for script changes were at the heart of the problem. Mr Spivak told the BMJ that Ms Volpe wanted to make editorial changes that were incompatible with a successful thriller, such as "long polemics about a drug issue."
When Mr Barondess told the writers that the deal was off, Mr Spivak says that the two writers were offered $100 000 to keep the deal secret. As part of the deal, the two writers would not be allowed to speak negatively about PhRMA or the drug industry for the rest of their lives. The writers refused the deal. Neither Ms Volpe nor Mr Barondess responded to requests for interviews with the BMJ.
While dismissing the book as a "screwball idea," Mr Johnson, said there was, none theless, reason for concern about Canadian drugs. He told the BMJ, "Drugs bought on the internet from Canada carry no guarantees."(Jeanne Lenzer)
The fictional book about terrorists, a bit of sex, and poisoned Canadian pills was commissioned as part of an effort to cause US citizens to worry about the safety of Canadian drugs. The US ban on importing Canadian drugs combined with the exorbitant prices of US drugs means that many patients resort to internet purchases from Canada and elsewhere.
The scheme came to light after an argument between the book's writers and its backers when one of the writers alleged that a deputy vice president of the US Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a US trade association, advanced $100 000 (￡58 000; 85 000) to commission the book.
Adding to the intrigue, the middleman who brokered the deal, Mark Barondess, a high profile divorce lawyer, was also a marketing consultant for PhRMA.
But Ken Johnson, senior vice president of communications for the trade association, denies that PhRMA directly commissioned the book. He would not acknowledge that a deputy vice president was involved in the book deal nor that Mr Barondess is a PhRMA consultant. He did say, however, that "to the best of my knowledge the book project idea was brought to an employee at PhRMA by an out-side consultant." He added that money was paid to the consultant by PhRMA.
Mr Johnson declined to confirm the identity of the deputy vice president, although she was identified as Valerie Volpe by the Philadelphia Inquirer, and one of the authors later confirmed this to the BMJ. Ms Volpe did not return calls for comment.
Mr Johnson called the book deal "an underhanded and sneaky idea." He said, "We don't need to resort to Looney Tunes. We have credible, safety based arguments against drug importation."
The secret scheme began to unravel when the book deal was scratched in July by Mr Barondess, who claimed that the manuscript was badly written.
But veteran ghostwriter, Julie Chrystyn, who was hired to write the book, and her coauthor, Kenin Spivak, a former Holly-wood executive and entrepreneur, say that PhRMA's demands for script changes were at the heart of the problem. Mr Spivak told the BMJ that Ms Volpe wanted to make editorial changes that were incompatible with a successful thriller, such as "long polemics about a drug issue."
When Mr Barondess told the writers that the deal was off, Mr Spivak says that the two writers were offered $100 000 to keep the deal secret. As part of the deal, the two writers would not be allowed to speak negatively about PhRMA or the drug industry for the rest of their lives. The writers refused the deal. Neither Ms Volpe nor Mr Barondess responded to requests for interviews with the BMJ.
While dismissing the book as a "screwball idea," Mr Johnson, said there was, none theless, reason for concern about Canadian drugs. He told the BMJ, "Drugs bought on the internet from Canada carry no guarantees."(Jeanne Lenzer)