Pope's Letter Warns That Pharmaceuticals' Greed Leads to Unethical Medicines

EWTN ^ | 12-Apr-2002 | -- LifeSite News

[patent]

12-Apr-2002 -- LifeSite News

POPE'S LETTER WARNS THAT PHARMACEUTICALS' GREED LEADS TO UNETHICAL MEDICINES

Says large investors putting little into ethical stem cell research because lower profits anticipated

VATICAN, (LSN.ca) - In a letter released publicly by the Vatican Thursday, Pope John Paul II warns that by the "pursuit of profit" the pharmaceutical industry has delved into unethical products such as the contraceptive pill, patches, morning after pills and abortion drugs. "The pharmaceutical industry has favoured research which has already placed on the world market products contrary to the moral good, including products which are not respectful of procreation and even suppress human life already conceived," he said.

The March 25 letter was addressed to the Msgr. Jozef Kowalczyk, the Apostolic Nuncio in Poland, as he was participating in the international conference on "Conflict Of Interest And Its Significance In Science And Medicine" held in Warsaw April 5-6.

The pope pointed to heavy investment in unethical embryonic research and yet relatively little investment into their ethical counterpart, adult stem cell research. "The recent decision in some countries to use human embryos or even to produce or clone them in order to harvest stem-cells for therapeutic purposes has the backing of large investors. Yet ethically acceptable and scientifically valid programmes using adult cells for the same therapies, with no less success, draws little support because lower profits are anticipated," he wrote.

The pope also took the media to task over its promotion of unethical medical products while refusing to promote health-promoting lifestyles such as abstinence till marriage. "The media, often financed by the same business interests, provoke exaggerated expectations and spawn a kind of pharmacological consumerism. At the same time they tend to pass over in silence those means of protecting health which require people to act responsibly and with self-discipline."

"Public authorities," he wrote, "should be prepared to prevent research which harms human life and dignity or which ignores the needs of the world's poorest peoples, who are generally less well equipped for scientific research."

[patent]

12-Apr-2002 -- Vatican Information Service

LETTER OF JOHN PAUL II ON "CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE IN SCIENCE AND MEDICINE" - text

To The Most Reverend Józef Kowalczyk Apostolic Nuncio in Poland

I am pleased to learn that you will be present at the International Conference to be held at Warsaw on 5 - 6 April 2002 on the theme: “Conflict of Interest and its Significance in Science and Medicine”, and I ask you kindly to convey my heartfelt best wishes to the organizers and participants. The subject of the Conference is well worth bringing to the attention of society as a whole. In fact, this is a question which affects not just the programming and development of medical research and science, but the well-being of peoples and the very dignity and prestige of scientific learning itself. In recent times the issue has emerged as one of the most serious ethical problems facing the international community.

In advanced societies, research, and specifically biomedical research, is one of the most far-reaching and dynamic fields of innovation and progress, drawing investment both from public bodies and from private groups, often of a multinational character.

While it is certainly proper for a firm in the field of biomedical or pharmaceutical research to seek an appropriate return on investment, it sometimes happens that overriding financial interests prompt decisions and products which are contrary to truly human values and to the demands of justice, demands which cannot be separated from the very aim of research. As a result, a conflict can arise between economic interests on the one hand and, on the other, medicine and health-care. Research in this field must be pursued for the good of all, including those without means.

In other words, there is a risk that science-based businesses and health care structures can be set up not in order to provide the best possible care for people in accordance with their human dignity, but in order to maximize profits and increase business, with a predictable lowering in the quality of service for those unable to pay.

In this way there is created in the field of science and medicine a conflict of interest between the investigation and correct treatment of illnesses – which is what scientific and medical research is all about – and the financial objective of making a profit.

Today this conflict is obvious in a number of specific ways. First of all, it can be seen in the selection of research programmes, where those programmes which hold out the promise of a quick profit are often preferred to other research which involves higher costs and a greater investment of time because it respects the demands of ethics and justice. Driven by the pursuit of profit and catering to what could be called “the medicine of desires”, the pharmaceutical industry has favoured research which has already placed on the world market products contrary to the moral good, including products which are not respectful of procreation and even suppress human life already conceived.

Even as biomedical research continues to perfect methods of artificial human fertilization, little funding and little research is directed to the prevention and treatment of infertility. The recent decision in some countries to use human embryos or even to produce or clone them in order to harvest stem-cells for therapeutic purposes has the backing of large investors. Yet ethically acceptable and scientifically valid programmes using adult cells for the same therapies, with no less success, draws little support because lower profits are anticipated.

Another example of such conflict of interest is the way in which priorities are set for pharmaceutical research. In developed countries, for instance, huge sums are spent on producing medicines that serve hedonistic purposes, or in marketing different brands of already available and equally effective medicines; while in poorer areas of the world drugs are not available for the treatment of devastating and deadly diseases. In these countries access to even the most basic medicines is almost impossible because the profit motive is absent. Likewise, in the case of certain uncommon diseases the industry offers no financial support for research and the production of medicines, because there is no prospect of profits: these are the so-called “orphan drugs”.

The very ethics of research can be undermined by the conflict of interest of which we are speaking, as for example when financial groups claim the right to permit the publication of research data depending on whether or not such data are in the interest of the groups themselves.

Even medical care in hospitals is increasingly subject to the imperatives of cost-containment. Although it is right to avoid waste in health care administration and in treatment, it is not right to deny proper care or permit the level of treatment to be lowered for the sake of greater financial profits.

The list of such conflicts will undoubtedly expand, if a utilitarian approach is allowed to prevail over the genuine quest for knowledge. This is what happens for example when the media, often financed by the same business interests, provoke exaggerated expectations and spawn a kind of pharmacological consumerism. At the same time they tend to pass over in silence those means of protecting health which require people to act responsibly and with self-discipline.

For science to retain its true independence and for researchers to retain their freedom, ethical values must be brought to the fore. To subject everything to profit involves a real loss of freedom for the scientist. And those who would uphold scientific freedom by appealing to a “values-free science” prepare the way for the supremacy of economic interests.

In a broader view, the pre-eminence of the profit motive in conducting scientific research ultimately means that science is deprived of its epistemological character, according to which its primary goal is discovery of the truth. The risk is that when research takes a utilitarian turn, its speculative dimension, which is the inner dynamic of man’s intellectual journey, will be diminished or stifled.

For scientific research in the biomedical field to be restored to its full dignity, researchers themselves must be fully engaged. It is primarily up to them to guard jealously and, if necessary, to reclaim the essential meaning of that mastery and dominion over the visible world which the Creator entrusted to man as a task and duty. As I wrote in my first Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis, this meaning “consists in the priority of ethics over technology, in the primacy of the person over things, and in the superiority of spirit over matter” (No. 16). Consequently, I added, “all phases of present-day progress must be followed attentively. Each stage of that progress must, so to speak, be x-rayed from this point of view” (ibid.).

Public authorities too, as guardians of the common good, have a role to play in ensuring that research is directed to the good of people and of society, and in tempering and reconciling the pressures of divergent interests. By issuing guidelines and by allocating public funds in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity, they should actively support those fields of research not sponsored by private interests. They should be prepared to prevent research which harms human life and dignity or which ignores the needs of the world’s poorest peoples, who are generally less well equipped for scientific research.

In offering good wishes for the success of this important Conference, I wish to reaffirm that the Church looks to scientists and researchers with hope and trust. In this sense I renew the invitation which I addressed to Catholic intellectuals in my Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae, and I extend it to all researchers of good will: may you “be present and active in the leading centres where culture is formed, in schools and universities, in places of scientific and technological research”, deeply committed to being “at the service of a new culture of life by offering serious and well documented contributions, capable of commanding general respect and interest by reason of their merit” (No. 98). It is in virtue of this broad vision of commitment to the truth and the common good that medical research and learning have written pages of genuine advancement, deserving of humanity’s recognition and gratitude.

With these thoughts, I invoke Almighty God’s assistance upon the work of the Conference and I cordially impart my blessing to all those taking part.

From the Vatican, 25 March 2002

JOHN PAUL II

[patent]

Bumping. Let me know if you want on or off the list. Click my screen name for a description.

Also, a related article:

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12-Apr-2002 -- ZENIT.org News Agency
ZENIT material may not be reproduced without permission. Permission can be requested at info@zenit.org

DUTCH EUTHANASIA LAW SUBTLY PRESSURES PATIENTS, WARNS A CRITIC

Interview with Professor Bernard Crul of Catholic University

VATICAN CITY, (Zenit.org).- Euthanasia has been decriminalized in some cases in the Netherlands since April 1, when the new law came into force.

The law allows terminal patients with "unbearable sufferings" to seek help from their doctors to die.

The doctors must comply with specific measures. Whoever takes recourse to euthanasia must be certain that the patient "has made a voluntary and well-thought out choice." And before carrying out the patient´s request, the doctor must consult an independent colleague, who may give his written consent only after verifying the patient´s condition.

The law recognizes the validity of a written statement expressing the intention to take recourse to euthanasia, including cases where patients are no longer capable of deciding for themselves.

Euthanasia may be requested as early as 16 years of age. Parental approval must be given for minors between the ages of 12-16. Respect for all necessary conditions must be verified by commissions made up of three experts: one in law, one in medicine, and one in ethics.

Professor Bernard Crul, of the Catholic University of Nijmegen, talked with Vatican Radio about the new law.

Q: The reference, in the Dutch law, to "unbearable sufferings" is the fundamental justification on which all those who support euthanasia base themselves.

Crul: It´s true. However, some doctors, who have learned about the possibilities offered today for the treatment of patients, say: "If I had known about this possibility, I would not have applied euthanasia to that particular patient some years ago."

Another important factor is the behavior of persons surrounding the patient. When tranquil and consoling, suffering is lessened. In my opinion, many requests for euthanasia are insinuated to the patient by the atmosphere that surrounds him.

When the patient feels that his presence as a sick person is not welcome, because it is too serious -- that friends and family are unable to cope with the exhaustion caused by his suffering -- he feels a great impulse toward euthanasia.

Q: At what stage is research on palliative care?

Crul: At a very advanced stage. However, a balance must always be struck between the level of suffering that the patient is capable of enduring and the relief that can be offered with palliative care.

I have patients who say to me: "Doctor, I will ask for euthanasia when I can no longer get out of bed." Then, when they arrive at this point, when they can no longer get out of bed, they do not ask for euthanasia because they have learned to accept the new situation; they are greatly sustained in this by the position of the medical personnel and their dear ones.

Q: This law allows a 16-year-old boy to freely take recourse to euthanasia. Isn´t there a risk of hasty choices?

Crul: Yes, of course. I am completely opposed to such a solution. Depression is a very frequent diagnosis in adolescence.

Q: As a doctor, what ethical implications does euthanasia have for you?

Crul: I will never tire of saying that at present there are other possibilities. I am convinced that doctors alone must not give the solution. The community [and] society must support the sick and make it possible for people to die with dignity and tranquility. It is not right to limit this to a strictly medical problem. This is a very broad field that involves the whole of society.

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[petkus]

Why isn't the Pope Talking about Cardinal Law these days?

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Why isn't the Pope Talking about Cardinal Law these days?

The world would love to have the Pope stop talking about the Culture of death. The world would love to have him stop teaching Christ crucified. He won't though, his job is to do these things. I don't know what he will do abour Cardinal Law, but I do know that regardless of that subject he will keep teaching the faith.

The media can try all they like to shut him up about these things, it won't happen. Even if you try to help.

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[dmz]

sorta beat me to it, perhaps the pope should consider cleaning his own house, or at least using curtains to cover that glass house - sorry about the mixed metaphors.

[Brian Kopp DPM]

Because unlike myopic and self obsessed Americans, the Pope realizes there are four legs to the Culture of Death, not just one or two. Those 4 legs of the culture of Death are 1)contraception 2)abortion 3)homosexuality and 4) euthanasia.

The Pope still has a Church to lead and a flock to shepherd despite his willfully disobedient wolves in sheeps clothing in the western developed countries, which represent only 25 to 33% of the world's Catholics.

[independentmind]

The pope pointed to heavy investment in unethical embryonic research and yet relatively little investment into their ethical counterpart, adult stem cell research. "The recent decision in some countries to use human embryos or even to produce or clone them in order to harvest stem-cells for therapeutic purposes has the backing of large investors. Yet ethically acceptable and scientifically valid programmes using adult cells for the same therapies, with no less success, draws little support because lower profits are anticipated," he wrote.

Do you have any insights as to why adult stem cell therapies are not anticipated to be as profitable? From why I have read, adult stem cell research actually holds more promise than ESCR. Does it have something to do with the ability to control the therapies through patents?

[patent]

I think it has something to do with money. I suspect that some cells are cheaper to get, and that they think cloneing will make them even cheaper yet. In addition, we have all that research funding.

More importantly, there are large interest groups that have lots of money tied up in abortion, which is made more legitimate when its by products are used in research, "saving" lives that in reality could have just as easily been saved by research on adult stem cells.

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[sinkspur]

The Pope still has a Church to lead and a flock to shepherd despite his willfully disobedient wolves in sheeps clothing in the western developed countries, which represent only 25 to 33% of the world's Catholics.

I suspect we will find that this pederast problem is more than just a western phenomenon. I also suspect that the Vatican will be implicated in knowing all the details about priests like Shanley, a co-founder of NAMBLA.

The noise threatens to drown out anything the Holy Father has to say, especially in the area of sexual ethics.

[tracer]

I wonder if the Pope is referring to the use of Viagra....

[dpwiener]

sorta beat me to it, perhaps the pope should consider cleaning his own house, or at least using curtains to cover that glass house - sorry about the mixed metaphors.

It struck me as interesting that the Pope is so willing to ascribe evil or base motives to those who fail to follow his pronouncements, and that he can't seem to grasp the concept that they may simply disagree with him. So the Pope believes pharmaceutical manufacturers are motivated by "pursuit of profit" to develop unethical products like contraceptives (among others), instead of being motivated by an honest desire to develop worthwhile products that will benefit and improve the lives of their customers.

Now substitute "pursuit of lust" (by numerous pedophilic priests) for "pursuit of profits" (by pharmaceutical companies), and suddenly there's the sound of silence from the Pope. No speculation about priestly motives or their unethical actions. It's hard not to sense a whiff of hypocrisy when the Pope has no compunctions about engaging in ad hominem attacks on non-Catholics who act contrary to his pronouncements, but is unwilling to apply similar standards towards priests within his own Church.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Do you think pharmaceutical companies are NOT driven by pursuit of profit? If you do I've got a bridge to sell you. Pharmaceutical companies, HMOs, insurance companies and the government DON'T care about you the consumer. The bottom line is money and to a lesser degree, politics. New drugs are rushed through the system due to pressures from various groups putting people at risk from such disasters as Rezulin, Baycol, and potentially Serzone now, not to mention all the horrendous diet drugs which are nothing more than legalized meth. A co-worker of mine worked a second job at an adult ER. He got to the point where if a 40 year old woman walked in, he could tell you exactly what drugs she was on: Prozac, Tagamet, birth control pills or estrogen, and a few others. Women's bodies are BIG money and the drug companies will not jeopardize their profits by publicizing any risks until they absolutely have to (for fear of being sued). Do you know the word that went out when Baycol was pulled? The drug companies didn't say "Oh, this is so awful about all the people who died!" No, they said "Oh, this is so awful. We stand to lose millions from this!"

In regards to the Pope, he has already rebuked these priests and spoken out against the "evils that have been perpetrated". He specifically said the Church does not condone or support this and will turn these individuals over to the proper authorities. Perhaps you haven't heard this because the liberal media with an agenda won't publicize anything complimentary to the Church. Needless to say, the Vatican does not exist as a PR machine but rest assured there is much going on behind the scenes. Not all actions taken will be publicized due to the reasons I've already stated.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

In addition, with the current trend towards natural medicines and treatments, the FDA would LOVE to regulate the sale of herbs. It (in bed with the pharmaceuticals) sees dollar signs there. Watch for this to happen if it has not already started.

[dpwiener]

Do you think pharmaceutical companies are NOT driven by pursuit of profit? ... Pharmaceutical companies, HMOs, insurance companies and the government DON'T care about you the consumer. The bottom line is money and to a lesser degree, politics. ...In addition, with the current trend towards natural medicines and treatments, the FDA would LOVE to regulate the sale of herbs.

Pursuing profit and caring about the consumer are not mutually exclusive; they are in fact complimentary in a free market. To the extent that we have problems with the medical infrastructure in this country, those problems are caused by government regulations and liability laws and the tax structure:

With respect to government regulations, the FDA imposes dictatorial controls and requirements and red tape on the development of new medicines, which result in enormous development costs (typically in the hundreds of millions of dollars) and delays (many years or decades) which in turn allow untold thousands of people to suffer and die. Natural medicines and herbs and vitamins are the only loophole in this rigid system, and the FDA has been fighting to slam shut that loophole for the past four decades. Pharmaceutical companies are forced to be "greedy" because only major (and expensive) new drugs can enable them to recoup the time and effort and cost of complying with FDA regulations.

Then there is the tort system in the United States which encourages massive class action lawsuits by unscrupulous contingency-fee-driven lawyers in pursuit of jackpot payoffs. Pharmaceutical companies can be bled or bankrupted by these jackals, especially if they say or do anything that can possibly be construed as indicating liability. This discourages prompt corrective actions and open responses to problems which may develop with new drugs, since that will almost certainly be used against them as proof of their guilt in subsequent lawsuits. Consumers ought to be able to make their own choices and voluntarily assume the risks of new (even unproven) medications by being allowed to waive their rights to sue pharmaceutical companies and medical practitioners. Risk assessment is a lost science in our society.

Finally, our tax structure encourages employer-provided health insurance instead of direct payments from consumers, which hides the cost of medical treatment. This eviscerates the filtering and prioritizing benefits of a market system, and helps drive prices into the stratosphere. My dogs and cats get excellent medical care from skilled veterinarians using cutting-edge medicines, all at one-tenth or one-hundredth of the cost of human medical care, because (in most cases) pet owners must pay the bills out of their own pockets.

So while there are huge problems with the current medical care system in the United States, the "pursuit of profit" is not the root of those problems. Most pharmaceutical employees and managers are honest, ethical people whose mission in life is to improve the health of their fellow human beings. And (despite what the Pope claims) that includes pharmaceutical employees who develop new contraceptives.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

You sound well informed, so much so that it sounds as if you work in this arena. Please do not take my comments to mean that all who work in this industry are corrupt and uncaring. Many good, life-saving drugs are produced that have increased our quantity and quality of life to the best it's ever been. I applaud them for that. I also whole-heartedly agree with the third paragraph of your response. People with terminal conditions and chronic severe diseases should be able to access unapproved drugs with a release of liability. Early in my career I worked in cardiac medical research and many individuals found relief with the experimental drugs. It was very frustrating to have to withdraw the drug when the study was concluded.

What is probably the most frustrating thing is that many necessary promising drugs are delayed for years while things like Rezulin and Baycol squeak through and the results are disasterous. While employees and managers may be honest, I think much of the corruption stems from the top where money is the bottom line. We run into this mentality in the hospitals. 'Administrators' in response to insurance companies run the hospitals and try to dictate the care that physicians and nurses give. From personal experience I can tell you that money is the bottom line there. One of our ER physicians used to say "The thing about managed care companies is that they manage not to care."

As for the Pope's speaking out, he has the right and responsibility to do that. The problem is that science and spirituality divorced themselves from each other a very long time ago. The two are not mutually exclusive as we have been led to believe. The mind, body and spirit are one and a disturbance in one creates consequences in the others.

[dpwiener]

You sound well informed, so much so that it sounds as if you work in this arena. ... One of our ER physicians used to say "The thing about managed care companies is that they manage not to care." ... As for the Pope's speaking out, he has the right and responsibility to do that.

Thank you, but I'm an electronic engineer who has never worked in this arena. Like everyone, I know people who do work in the health care industry (e.g., my mother and my sister-in-law are both RNs). And I live in a city next door to Thousand Oaks, whose biggest company is Amgen, so I know people who know people who work there. But that's the extent of it.

I have no love for managed care companies or Kaiser or any other forms of HMOs, which are bastardized creations formed in reaction to companies' spiraling health insurance costs. They first treat medical care almost as a free good (thereby driving demand sky-high) and then they use rationing to try limit the demand. In a truly free market, unhindered by the types of government interference I previously cited, prices and customer satisfaction would be the mechanisms for matching supply to demand. Managed care companies, if they still existed, would have to compete for the dollars of individual consumers by offering various levels of (reasonable-quality) health care at an affordable range of prices.

As for the Pope, he's not merely speaking out against certain types of medicines (such as contraceptives) he is questioning the motives of those who develop them. And he is also blaming the capitalistic system (rather than government interference) for creating incentives to reach unethical goals. If that's his logic, then the exact same logic could be applied to the pedophilic priest scandals, by questioning the motives of the Church leaders who for many years have tolerated and covered up these festering problems, and by blaming the Catholic system (e.g., a celibate priesthood) for creating incentives for unethical conduct.

[Rum Tum Tugger]

The world would love to have the Pope stop talking about the Culture of death. The world would love to have him stop teaching Christ crucified. He won't though, his job is to do these things. I don't know what he will do abour Cardinal Law, but I do know that regardless of that subject he will keep teaching the faith.

But if the Bishops and Priests who have the responsibility to implement the Pope's message are in as sad a condition as they appear to be, the Pope's message will not be as effective as it should be. It is also the Pope's job to make sure that he has the troops to implement his agenda. That seems to be a major part of his job description that he has been neglecting.

Further, as the scandals grow (and they surely will), the whole Church loses credibility. If the Pope's audience doesn't view the Church as a credible voice, the Pope can speak until he's blue in the face and he will have little effect.

No, the Pope's first priority at this time needs to be taking whatever action will stop the credibility leak. That doesn't mean damage control. That means real action that makes the Church credible again.

I'm tired of seeing my Church the butt of jokes on late-nite TV.

[Torie]

Pope John Paul II warns that by the "pursuit of profit" the pharmaceutical industry has delved into unethical products such as the contraceptive pill, patches, morning after pills

That is his opinion. Most of his flock rejects it. On this issue, what the Pope says has ceased to have much force and effect. Few care what he thinks.