How Pharma Invents Diseases: A Podcast with Adriane Fugh-Berman
episode
GeriPal - A Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine Podcast
47 min
3 speakers
5 chapters
transcribed 9 hours ago
Transcript
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This episode of the JerryPal Podcast is CME eligible.
To claim credit, please go to the CME tab on jerrypal.org.
Welcome to the JerryPal Podcast. This is Eric Quadera.
This is Alex Smith.
And Alex, who do we have with us today?
Today we are delighted to welcome Adrian Fu Berman, who is professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at Georgetown University Medical Center in the Department of Family Medicine, and also founder of Farm Doubt. Adrian, welcome to the JerryPal Podcast.
Happy to be here.
We're also delighted to welcome back Alexis Collie, who is a resident in surgery and a palliative care fellow at UCSF. Alexis, welcome back to Jerry Powell.
Thanks for having me.
So today we got a real I love this topic, how pharma invents diseases. So we got a lot to talk about with pharma influence on medical providers, prescribing, ton to talk about. But before we jump into that topic, we always ask for a song request. Adrian, do you have a song request for Alex?
Um yes, I would love to hear fifty ways to leave drug companies.
Now, uh I have a is that a Beyonce song?
No, it's a parody of a Paul Simon song, of course, Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover.
So you wrote the parody. Alex usually writes the parodies, but this is a new one where we have a guest written. I love
it. I love it. This is a guest written parody. This is great. This will be fun. Here we go.
The problems overpromoted meant, she said to me. You know we've got to treat our patients carefully. I'd like to help you to become pharma-free. There must be 50 ways to leave drug companies. She said it isn't education, reps provide. Right. And what they know about you they're unlikely to confide What they want to do is control what you prescribe There must be fifty ways to leave drug companies Fifth to leave drug companies Have the rips take a hike, Mike. Your own pin. Don't need a free me. Sket yourself free, throw the samples away, cake. Don't have to use new drugs, pay your own CME. Three.
We got more of that song at the end of the podcast, so get ready for it.
That was wonderful.
So we got a lot to talk about again on the influence of pharma. We're gonna talk about devices too on physicians, on providers, how they prescribe. Adrian, you've had a a l a long research career, a lot of influence in this regard. What's your origin story? How did this all start for you?
Well, I started off as a a women's health activist. I worked in reproductive health clinics and I was very involved with the National Women's Health Network, um, which is a consumer advocacy organization that does not take money from drug companies or other industry. So we had been working against medicalization of menopause and medicalization of childbirth, medicalization of other normal life states. So I'd been doing that for quite a while before. I decided to uh go to medical school. So I was I was always an always an activist. And later, so I I went to w went to Georgetown, then to the residency program in social medicine at Montefior, where I did internship. And then um Eventually went to work for NIH, uh, worked as medical director of several alternative medical clinics, and um and then uh and then came to Georgetown.
So let's see. So I guess more than 15 years ago, the attorneys general of the highest lawyers of every state created a grant program, the Consumer and Prescriber Grant Program. It was funded by Punch. Punishment money uh from a drug company, uh Warner Lambert, which was a subsidiary of Pfizer. It was punishment money for off label illegal promotion of a drug called neurontin and just for our Well just for our
listeners too, if you want to learn more about that, we did a gabba petin super special a ways back where we talked a little bit about how gabapetin rose in fame. I think it's in the top ten drugs as far as prescribing, still to this day, likely 'cause of side effects of this off label push by drug companies to physicians.
Very interesting. I'm so glad you covered that. Um yeah, so they they funded a number of academic medical centers and organizations to create educational modules on pharma influence.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–15:54
2
What is the origin story of Adriane Fugh‑Berman and how did she become a pharma‑watchdog?
15:54–20:58
3
How did the Consumer and Prescriber Grant Program get funded by a drug‑company settlement?
20:58–27:47
4
What is the mission of PharmedOut and why does it aim to separate industry from medical education?
27:47–33:01
5
How do pharmaceutical companies use covert tactics like key‑opinion leaders and advocacy groups to market drugs?
33:01–47:01
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from GeriPal - A Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine Podcast
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