Relationship with pharmaceutical companies

I thank Dr Lemire for her response¹ to Drs Spithoff, Lexchin, and Kitai,² who are eager to cut ties with the health care and pharmaceutical industry. I am very grateful to the pharmaceutical industry and am embarrassed by the lack of acknowledgment afforded to it by some groups in our profession. In the course of my career I have regularly attended medical conferences and meetings fully or partially funded by the pharmaceutical industry and have been excited to hear about new medications. I have been equally excited to return to my practice and advise my patients that relief might be on the horizon for them. While I am cautioned by the adage “Be not the first by whom the new is tried nor the last to lay the old aside,” I and my patients wait for feedback from other specialist colleagues on the efficacy and side effect profiles of new medications.

I recall the excitement of attending pharmaceutical industry–sponsored meetings to hear about proton pump inhibitors, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and more recently, glucagonlike peptide 1 agonists, sodium-glucose cotransporter inhibitors, α₁-proteinase inhibitors, 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor agonists, and ulipristal—all of which were generated because of the investment, research, and development of pharmaceutical companies.

When I arrive home at the end of a busy day, and have committed to go out that evening to listen to a pharmaceutical industry–sponsored talk given by a practising specialist and eat a pharmaceutical industry–sponsored meal, most times my preference would be to stay at home. I nevertheless attend the gathering and listen to the speaker and the questions and discussions of my colleagues—most of whom are gray-haired, I might add. I always learn something. My patients expect me to talk to them about the benefits of exercise and eating a healthy diet, and they also expect me to have current knowledge about new drugs from which they might benefit.