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Parents unhappy with MMR
safety experts' links to drug firms
By Lorraine Fraser, Medical Correspondent
(Filed: 25/08/2002)
Concerns are growing over the links between
doctors advising the Government on the safety of the MMR triple
vaccine and the pharmaceutical companies that make it.
Documents produced by two Department of Health
committees responsible for reviewing the safety and efficacy of the
vaccine, the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and the Joint
Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, reveal that significant
numbers of members have links with manufacturers of the MMR jab.
Fifteen of the 36 members of the CSM have declared
personal or non-personal links with companies cited in a class action
being brought by parents who believe that the measles, mumps and rubella
triple vaccine has harmed their children.
Six committee members have personal shareholdings
and/or hold consultancy posts with MMR manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline and
nine have a past or present association, such as receiving research
funding from companies involved. Two members have declared interests in
both categories.
Among the 20 members of the vaccination and
immunisation committee, two have declared consultancy work, again with
Glaxo, and six have recorded non-personal interests relating to relevant
companies. One member has interests in both categories.
Although there is no evidence that their opinions on
MMR have been influenced by their links with the pharmaceutical firms,
the extent of them has caused disquiet.
David Thrower, a parent who has campaigned for more
research into MMR, said: "The tolerance of potential conflicts of
interest in the medical establishment has reached an extraordinary
level, both in terms of the scale of the interests involved and the
apparent complete disinterest of central government in this issue.
"Yet it is particularly critical when considering the
safety of medical products that the people making those judgments don't
have any conflict of interest, indirect or direct.
"You have to ask yourself, do the conflicts of interest
overwhelm the scientific considerations of safety."
It emerged yesterday that Phillip Minor, a professor in
charge of a department promised a government grant to conduct a study
crucial to the MMR debate, is being paid to advise legal firms acting
for GlaxoSmithKline on the safety of vaccines.
The director of the institute, Stephen Inglis, who is
also a member of the vaccination and immunisation committee, where he
has declared non-personal interests involving Glaxo, has defended the
specialists.
He said that any suggestion that the work would not be
carried out objectively was "insulting".
A spokesman for the Department of Health said a code of
practice barred committee members from participating in any decision on
a product if they had declared an interest in the company making it.
"Anyone who declares any sort of interest in the
pharmaceutical industry cannot play a part in any decision relating to
those companies and has to leave the room when the subject arises," he
said.
Parents' groups are uncomfortable with the situation,
however. Richard Miles, who coordinates Autism Research Campaign for
Health, said: "We are very concerned to ensure that this study does not
turn out to be a whitewash."
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