Reply (Thomas A. Ban)
Thomas A. Ban’s reply to Samuel Gershon’s comment on Ban’s response to Barry Blackwell’s response to Ban’s reply to his comment on Ban’s Conflict of Interest in Neuropsychopharmacology: Marketing vs. Education
Pharma’s control on prescribing is made possible by international trade agreements which guarantee companies exclusive property of information on drugs (under patent protection) they are developing. The potential negative effects of industrial control of data, however, could be reduced by research that would generate information on subpopulations within diagnoses in which the different psychotropic drugs are effective. Even the current negative role of “patient advisory groups” might be reduced by the availability of such information.
Thomas A. Ban
March 26, 2015