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Our primary interests are in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we expect to be of assistance to peoples of all countries who wish to reveal unethical behavior in their governments and corporations. We aim for maximum political impact...(more)
Today's featured truth teller - David Franklin
Exposing illegal marketing of pharmaceuticals.
Franklin was an employee of Parke-Davis, a division of Pfizer, who exposed illegal marketing of Neurontin (gabapentin), an epilepsy drug for relieving pain, headaches, bipolar disorder and other psychiatric illnesses. The company marketed the drug for these illnesses while withholding evidence that the drug was not effective for them. After initially denying wrongdoing, Pfizer pled guilty to criminal violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act and paid criminal and civil fines of $430 million dollars. The Franklin v. Pfizer case established a new standard of accountability for pharmaceutical industry marketing practices and revealed involvement, complicity and active participation in fraud by many renowned physicians. The case demonstrated that the medical literature which is the foundation for medical practice and particularly off-label prescribing by physicians has been deeply adulterated by the pharmaceutical industry and its paid clinical consultants. Franklin v. Pfizer showed that pharmaceutical control of the healthcare system, including doctors and pharmacists resulted in a large number of patients (not just Medicare/Medicaid) paying a great deal of money (Neurontin sales were $2.2 billion in 2004) for a drug that did nothing to help their illness.