Political scientists: The danger of mixing pharma with politics

EPM editor Reece Armstrong examines why political meddling in pharma can harm the industry. 

President Trump’s recent rebuke of the FDA has solidified a growing consensus surrounding the public’s trust or rather mistrust of scientific bodies and the advice offered.

It’s a sentiment that’s been growing for a number of years now, as false information related to the likes of vaccines and viruses spread like wildfire across social media.

Now, with Trump claiming the agency is out to hurt his re-election chances and pushing the FDA towards potentially dangerous Emergency Use Authorisations (EUAs), it’s clear that the president is completely disregarding the agency’s role of protecting public health in the US.

This transition of political scapegoating can only be detrimental to how scientific advice is viewed by members of the public. Consider the outrage of those against wearing a mask to stop the spread of Covid-19 and the parallel of Trump’s disregard of the pandemic.

It doesn’t matter that at the start of the year Trump downplayed the threat of Covid-19, because he’ll take credit for any progress made towards a vaccine or treatment, or simply blame China.

In some ways, the president’s political machinations match the rhetoric of our government in the UK and its approach to Covid-19.

In May, prime minister Boris Johnson said that the UK would have a ‘world beating’ track and trace system, a statement we can now clarify as false, given that the government only just released a second, updated app in August, following a first failed attempt.

We continuously see ministers like Matt Hancock get put on the backfoot in interviews concerning Covid-19, blustering on about the strides we’ve made when cases are on the rise and stories of track and trace failures are rife.

Thankfully, pharma has stepped up in regard to safety protocols, with nine major firms including Pfizer, AstraZeneca and GSK, pledging to uphold the integrity of scientific progress as they work towards an approval for a Covid-19 vaccine.

The pledge affirms pharma’s commitment to making sure vaccines are made safely, through rigorous testing and clinical studies. The companies hope that the pledge ensures the public are confident in the industry’s ability to safely release a Covid-19 vaccine.

It also flies in the face of Trump’s scientific overreach and his pressuring of the industry to release promising data for a Covid-19 vaccine. Yes, we’d all like to see a vaccine released so our lives can return to normal, but not at the expense of public safety.

Ultimately, it’s society who loses when divides are caused by political fear-mongering and scientific advice isn’t taken seriously.