Health Advocacy Groups Fail to Disclose Financial Ties to Drug Companies
Many health advocacy groups that seek public funding to support their causes fail to disclose the financial support they receive from drug makers, according to a new study published this week in the American Journal of Public Health.
The study examined a database of grants made by Eli Lilly, the first U.S. drug company to make its grant data public. Researchers found that in the first half of 2007, Lilly awarded $3.2 million in grants to 161 nonprofit advocacy groups. However, only a quarter of the groups noted the contributions on their public web sites and only ten percent admitted that Lilly sponsored an event. None of the groups said exactly how much money they received from the company.
Critics say it is imperative that advocacy groups disclose their funding sources because they advocate for public funds and serve on federal advisory boards. They also push lawmakers for greater access to new prescription drugs, which is an interest shared by pharmaceutical companies that stand to profit from selling new drugs.
To increase transparency, researchers recommend that legislators expand the Physician Payment Sunshine Act to make disclosure a mandatory requirement for drug companies and enact new federal tax regulations that would force advocacy groups to list industry donors on their tax returns