The WHO, A Novartis Exec & A Conflict Of Interest
5 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // January 19th, 2011 // 11:15 am
Late last month, the World Health Organization proposed members for what it calls a consultative expert working group for R&D financing, which would evaluate and recommend funding for partnership projects for such problems as neglected diseases. The protocol involves nominating individuals from different countries and regions in order to create a balance reflecting varying needs and views.
But one suggested member is reportedly generating some controversy - Paul Herrling, who heads the Institutes for Developing World Medical Research at Novartis. Among the 21 people suggested for the working group, he is the only one listed as currently working as an executive for a drugmaker (see the list here). And for that reason, his nomination stirred some opposition over concerns of any potential conflict of interest.
For instance, Herrling is the author of a proposal asking the CEWG for $10 billion in grants to subsidize pharmaceutical industry research into neglected diseases (read here). He is also involved in an effort to create a revised proposal for funding partnership development projects, along with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. And so his nomination was questioned by representatives from Thailand, which has sparred with several brand-name drugmakers over pricing and compulsory licensing.
Consequently, the nomination has caused a debate and prompted pushback from some European members of the WHO executive board, who are threatening to hold up approving the creation of the working group, according to Knowledge Ecology International, a non-profit advocacy group that focuses on intellectual property issues that affect access to medications (look here).
This is not the first time that the WHO has encountered criticism over a decision to tap execs from drugmakers for advisory groups. Last year, the agency was embroiled over a decision to withhold the names of scientific advisors who participated on its pandemic flu panel. The names were released only after the WHO declared the pandemic had ended (read this).
Herrling, himself, may not be a huge issue, according to KEI’s Jamie Love. “Among public health groups, Paul Herrling is one of the highest regarded big pharma executives, and someone that KEI and others respect and enjoy working with. We just do not see how the WHO can have him evaluate his own funding proposals,” he writes. “We would have thought the previous controversy over the industry influence on the influenza pandemic expert group would have make the WHO more sensitive to the public’s concerns over conflicts of interest. Apparently not.”
Pelfrey1
Darn, Ed…I thought this was another example of a “Hear Them Before They Die” trip you were taking. But while it sounds as though Herrling might be someone they like, I don’t understand why he was selected with his ties to Novartis. Exceptions are dangerous. The last line of your article sums it up:“We would have thought the previous controversy over the industry influence on the influenza pandemic expert group would have make the WHO more sensitive to the public’s concerns over conflicts of interest. Apparently not.”
Anne PME
I hope that all of the conflicts in the US have not helped set the stage for this WHO conflict.
Jimbo
Maybe it’s because Novartis has earned a place at the table?
Novartis kicks off institute for neglected diseases 2/07/2003
Singapore–Swiss drug giant Novartis is out to prove that it can do good for society while doing well for itself. With support from the Singapore government, Novartis is setting up a private, nonprofit institute dedicated to discovering better treatments for neglected diseases that are ravaging developing countries.
The Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD) will initially focus on multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and dengue. Any resulting drugs will be available to developing countries without royalties, a step that Paul Herrling, Novartis’s head of corporate research, hopes will “shine a light on the positive contributions we make to society.” At the same time, NITD will give the company an entry into the medical and regulatory environments of developing countries.
Advocates for these neglected diseases gathered here last month for a 2-day conference to inaugurate the new institute and praise the initiative. “I’d like to see other countries do this,” says Maria Freire, head of the Global Alliance for Tuberculosis Drug Development, adding that drug-delivery expertise is likely to prove far more helpful to the effort than money is. NITD will be in temporary quarters until April 2004, when it will move to a new building in Biopolis, a research park for the life sciences.
Novartis will pick up the lion’s share of NITD’s $14.8 million annual budget for at least 10 years.
industry insider
Ed, speaking of The WHO, I just downloaded “Quadrophenia” from iTunes. I can’t believe that I never heard that album before in it’s entirety. By far and away the best drum performance by Keith Moon in his all-too-short career.
Ed Silverman
Hi Industry Insider,
This is a little off topic, but I agree with your assessment, although in my case, I can recall purchasing the album when it was released many moons ago.
I also had the pleasure of seeing them a year-plus later when they performed a few of those tracks. Great show.
Anyway, you may enjoy this recent article in The New Yorker…
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/11/29/101129fa_fact_wood
Cheers,
ed