Depending upon your radar screen, you may or may not be aware that negotiators are at the United Nations this week in Geneva to discuss ways to boost innovation in what are commonly known as neglected diseases, such as TB and malaria. And a new study finds that commentators at the public hearing came primarily from organizations that are affiliated, one way or another, with pharma and biotech. Here is the study.

The commentators are registered as either a non-governmental organization, civil society group or international organization, and were asked whether their groups accept donations from corporations and trade associations. The survey, which was conducted by Essential Action, a Washington DC-based advocacy group, also asked for specific company names, amounts donated and purpose of donations. EA, which researched groups that declined to reply, conducted the study because it believes industry ties are “a helpful way to assess the value of comments from (the meeting’s) contributors.”

Overall, the survey found that 22 comments were from organizations that had either received money from drugmakers or industry reps on their boards. The level of involvement ranged from what EA described as “fairly minimal,” such as the Colorado chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, which acepted funding for its 2007 conference from several drugmakers and biotechs, to “fairly in-depth,” such as the Alliance for Health Education and Development, which is headed by a former health care lobbyist.

An additional thirteen trade associations with overt ties to pharma joined in the comments at what is formally called the Intergovernmental Working Group on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property. Only eight organizations listed as NGOs showed no industry ties, although there were also eight academics with no apparent industry ties who commented.

Some readily acknowledged accepting industry donations, but maintained the funds haven’t affected their ability to deliver valid opinions. For instance, Virginia Ladd of the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, told EA that it “is standard practice in the US (to) receive corporate and
foundation funds from those entities (with) an interest in the work.”