Pharmaceutical Industry is Losing its Reputation As an Ethical Industry
According to a recent analysis conducted by Covalence a Geneva Switzerland-based organization that tracks the ethical reputation of multinationals, the pharmaceutical industry’s ethical reputation dropped from first to third on Covalence’s all-time EthicalQuote ranking that monitors 10 industries. Further, over the past year, pharma has only managed to achieve an overall ranking of 8th on the list.
The reasons given for the ongoing decline are increased attention on product risk and decreasing media coverage of donations and philanthropy of pharmaceutical companies. The recent high profile coverage of the safety risks associated GlaxoSmithKline’s Paxil and Merck’s Vioxx are good examples of why the ethical image of pharma continues on its downward spiral.
To improve their image, ethicists recommend that drug companies showcase innovative drugs in poor countries, reduce prices to increase access to drugs and loosen intellectual property rights so that there is global access to potentially life-saving drugs. While several companies like Merck and Roche have gone down this path, it may be too little too late.
Until next time…
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