What is the reason for the drug research being buried in the dark that the risk for Alzheimer's disease is one-third?
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Pfizer , one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, has identified that a commonly marketed anti-arthritis drug may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease by as much as 64%. However, it turned out that Pfizer had kept the company confidential without disclosing the research, rather than conducting research, said the Washington Post of foreign media.
Why Pfizer did not report that its rheumatoid arthritis medication might prevent Alzheimer's-The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/pfizer-had-clues-its-blockbuster-drug-could-prevent-alzheimers-why-didnt-it-tell-the-world/2019/06/04/ 9092e08a-7a61-11e9-8bb7-0fc796cf2ec0_story.html
Medicine needs to embrace open source | ZDNet
https://www.zdnet.com/article/medicine-needs-to-embrace-open-source/
' Etanercept ' is a treatment for autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis , and Pfizer sells this etanercept under the brand name ' Enbrel '.
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In 2015, researchers in Pfizer's inflammation and immunology department found that Enbrel could significantly reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, from the health insurance claims database. Specifically, patients taking Enbrel for the treatment of arthritis etc. had a 64% lower rate of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease than those who did not. However, this is only a statistical result, so further research was needed to see if Enbrel actually reduced the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
However, Pfizer has abandoned Enbrel's research and did not disclose information that Enbrel may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. So, until Washington Post found this out of Pfizer's in-house material, Enbrel's hidden medicinal effects were left untouched by anyone.
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A spokesman for Pfizer responded that 'Statistical results were not credible because the statistical results did not meet the' strict scientific criteria ''. Similarly, he explained that the reason for not publishing the statistical results was 'If you made a mistake, it would have caused an extra expectation and was misleading.' It was also determined that Enbrel's molecules are too large to cross the blood-brain barrier where blood components must pass in order to reach the brain, so it is unlikely that they will act on the brain.
However, researchers at Alzheimer's disease are skeptical about this answer. 'There is a theory that peripheral nerves and systemic inflammation are the cause of Alzheimer's disease,' said Keenan Walker, medical assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University. And stated that it was not necessary to conceal the data just because there was a negative view. Rudolf Tanzi, a professor at Harvard Medical School and a leading researcher on Alzheimer's disease, also answered, 'Of course,' to the Washington Post's question whether Pfizer should have released the data.
The Washington Post believes that the main reason for not only did Pfizer stop researching Enbrel, but even data that suggests its effect on Alzheimer's disease, was because it prioritized profits. For example, Enbrel was patented in 2012, and generic drug development was in progress. The fact that the patent has expired does not mean that the original product can not be sold, but if cheap generic drugs appear, they will be exposed to price competition, and it is common for profits to fall sharply .
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Although it is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, as it is not a public organization but a profit-seeking organization, it is natural that giving priority to the public interest over the public interest. In addition, since the clinical trials required to test the effects of pharmaceuticals are very expensive, it is inevitable that Pfizer, which is in the process of restructuring on a global scale, has had to invest in additional investments due to business difficulties. There is also a side.
On the other hand, it has been pointed out that 'the high drug price is because pharmaceutical companies spend more money on marketing rather than research and development,' and so on, pharmaceutical companies have gained extraordinary profits by raising their drug prices. It is also a fact .
by pxhere
In the background of these cases, one of the attempts to overcome the current situation where drugs can not be distributed to people suffering from illness due to the circumstances of a large company is “ open sourcing of drugs ”. 'There is a huge and corrupt aspect of biomedical research that can be called' the kingdom ',' said Manika Balassegaram, who is known to have been the Chief Executive Officer in the Essential Medicine Campaign for Doctors Without Borders . Criticizing existing business models that favor marketing rather than public health.
On top of that, 'it's more important to build a new way to research and develop medicines than to put up with a Pfizer just based on the existing business model,' open-source research and development of medicines So, more people expressed hope that they could get the medicine at the right price.
Given that large companies occupy a large amount of intellectual property related to pharmaceuticals, it can be seen that open sourcing is not very realistic. However, given that the operating system , power transmission system , and even the special effects of Hollywood movies are open sourced, healthcare and healthcare can also be open sourced, Barrosearam said.
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