A joint investigation by publisher BMJ with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has revealed that key scientists behind the WHO advice on stocking of pandemic flu drugs had financial ties with companies which stood to profit.
According to media reports, the inquiry disclosed that WHO guidance on the use of antiviral drugs and vaccines, issued in 2004, was authored by three scientists who had earlier received payment for other work from Roche (which makes Tamiflu), and GlaxoSmithKline (manufacturer of Relenza). While the experts consulted disclosed their industry ties in research papers and at universities, the WHO itself did not publicly disclose any of these in its seminal 2004 guidance for use of medicines during an influenza pandemic.
The WHO's advice had then led governments across the globe to stock huge quantities of antivirals. The organisation's decision to declare a pandemic in June 2009 triggered the purchase of hastily manufactured vaccines worth billion of dollars. Much of these stocks have reportedly gone unused as the pandemic turned out to be far less lethal than some experts feared. This led to suspicions of undue influence of big pharma companies on WHO decisions.
The investigation also raised queries about the WHO's Emergency Committee, the 16-member group formed in 2009 to advise the director general on the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic. The WHO requires all members of the Emergency Committee to sign a confidentiality agreement, provide a declaration of interests, and agree to give their consultative time freely, without compensation. However, the BMJ report reveals, only one member of the committee has been publicly named - Prof. John MacKenzie, who chairs it. According to the BMJ, at least one of the members on the Emergency Committee had received payment from GSK in 2009. The BMJ article also looks at how the FDA and the European Medicines Agency reviewed the drugs Relenza and Tamiflu.
Meanwhile, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan defended the agency's position on maintaining the privacy of the names of the Emergency Committee until their work is complete in a WHO statement.
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