(Press-News.org) Sixteen of the 146 health-related All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) in the Houses of Parliament (UK) received over a £1 million in payments from 35 pharmaceutical companies between 2012-2018 according to a new study.
The researchers behind the analysis from the University of Bath's Centre for the Analysis of Social Policy suggest their findings reveal a worrying lack of transparency over payments received and potential conflicts of interests towards public policy.
Through their research they extracted details from 6,624 entries about funding registered by APPGs, and found 1,177 payments from external donors, 168 of which were from pharmaceutical companies. Two APPGs - the APPG for Health and the APPG for Cancer - received more than half of the total funding (£414,921 and £252,557 respectively) provided by pharmaceutical companies.
They also found that patient organisations, which had also received pharmaceutical industry funding, were frequently providing support for APPG's secretariat function (304 payments worth £986,055). The secretariat's role is at the heart of an APPG, responsible for its day-to-day running and activities and therefore holding significant influence.
Whilst the new study suggests there is no evidence of wrongdoing, the researchers argue that a lack of transparency highlights a much broader issue about funding and transparency over access to APPGs and policymaking more broadly.
Emily Rickard, lead researcher and a doctoral student at Bath's Department of Social & Policy Sciences, explains: "APPGs are a unique and valuable forum for exchange of opinion between parliamentarians and civil society.
"The focus of our research is on transparency and the democratic process. We have identified that APPGs receive money from various sources and it could be that this money is put to very good uses. However, the impact of the money is unclear and the way in which it is reported is not transparent. This is important to address."
Supervisor, END
Study reveals over a £1 million in payments from pharma companies to APPGs
University of Bath press release
2021-06-28
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
UC study: Researchers question prevailing Alzheimer's theory with new discovery
2021-06-28
Experts estimate more than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's dementia. But a recent study, led by the University of Cincinnati, sheds new light on the disease and a highly debated new drug therapy.
The UC-led study, conducted in collaboration with the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, claims that the treatment of Alzheimer's disease might lie in normalizing the levels of a specific brain protein called amyloid-beta peptide. This protein is needed in its original, soluble form to keep the brain healthy, but sometimes it hardens into "brain stones" or clumps, called amyloid plaques.
The study, which appears in the journal EClinicalMedicine (published by the Lancet), comes on the heels of the FDA's conditional approval of a new medicine, aducanumab, that ...
Don't worry, birds won't become dependent on you feeding them, study suggests
2021-06-28
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University researchers have some good news for the well-meaning masses who place bird feeders in their yards: The small songbirds who visit the feeders seem unlikely to develop an unhealthy reliance on them.
"There's still much we don't know about how intentional feeding might induce changes in wild bird populations, but our study suggests that putting out food for small birds in winter will not lead to an increased dependence on human-provided food," said Jim Rivers, an animal ecologist with the OSU College of Forestry.
Findings from the research, which looked at black-capped chickadees outfitted with radio frequency identification tags, ...
Response to COVID-19 vaccines varies widely in blood cancer patients
2021-06-28
New York, NY (June 28, 2021) - Patients with a type of blood cancer called multiple myeloma had a widely variable response to COVID-19 vaccines--in some cases, no detectable response--pointing to the need for antibody testing and precautions for these patients after vaccination, according to a study that will be published in Cancer Cell this week.
Mount Sinai researchers found that multiple myeloma patients mount variable and sometimes suboptimal responses after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Almost 16 percent of these patients developed no detectible antibodies after both vaccine doses. These findings may be relevant to other cancer patients undergoing treatment and to immunocompromised patients.
"This study ...
Impact of cocoa agroforestry on bird diversity
2021-06-28
Did you know chocolate comes from cocoa beans grown in some of the most biodiverse tropical landscapes on the planet? The cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) is farmed within biodiversity hotspots of West Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. Cocoa was traditionally grown under a canopy of native trees that provided habitat for birds and other wildlife. However, pressure to increase cocoa production has pushed many farmers to clear forest and eliminate the shade trees on their farms.
An estimated 2-3 million hectares of tropical forest were converted to cocoa from 1988-2008 with severe consequences for biodiversity. Unsustainable cocoa monocultures (agricultural ...
Market exit: Divestment or redeployment?
2021-06-28
Multi-business firms have flexibility advantages over single-business rivals because they have the option to redeploy resources across businesses. This flexibility, it has been assumed without empirical evidence, is purported to inspire quicker exits from markets.
A 2017 survey revealed that 70 percent of corporate executives expected to make at least one divestment in the subsequent two years, with the primary motive being strategic realignment of portfolios as non-core assets are shed. A large number of academic studies have established that parent firms tend ...
Study shows links between youth distress and stigma around sexual orientation
2021-06-28
Imagine having feelings of distress and negativity at some point as you are going about your day. Then imagine feeling that way every day, for almost 21 days. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth don't have to imagine having negative feelings at some point throughout the day for an extended period of days. A new study from American University reveals just how pervasive emotional distress is related to stigma around sexual orientation.
"Although we know that LGBTQ youth experience bullying, discrimination, and microaggressions during adolescence, we don't know how prevalent these experiences ...
Defect and interface engineering for e-NRR under ambient conditions
2021-06-28
The electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (e-NRR) under ambient conditions is an emerging strategy to tackle the hydrogen- and energy-intensive processes entailed in industrial ammonia (NH3) synthesis via the traditional Haber-Bosch process. However, the e-NRR performance is currently impeded by the inherent inertness of N2 molecules, extremely slow kinetics, and overwhelming competition from the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), all of which result in an unsatisfactory yield and ammonia selectivity (Faradaic efficiency, FE). To achieve a high-selectivity and high-performance NRR under ambient conditions, the rational design of efficient electrocatalysts is urgently required. Defect and interface engineering ...
Angelenos versus New Yorkers: What do they talk about online?
2021-06-28
A team of computer scientists at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering set out to develop new tools automate and organize social science data. What did they use as their data sets? Twitter posts from coastal capitals, New York City and Los Angeles.
The researchers found that they could identify similar tweets that do not have hashtags by using natural language processing and neural networks to create clusters of alike tweets. "It's using AI to create a map of similar tweets," says Mayank Kejriwal, a Research Assistant Professor in the USC Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and a Research Lead at the USC Information ...
Newly discovered sperm movement could help diagnose, treat male infertility
2021-06-28
Scientists at The University of Toledo discovered new movement in sperm that provides innovative avenues for diagnostics and therapeutic strategies for male infertility.
The research published in Nature Communications finds that the atypical centriole in the sperm neck acts as a transmission system that controls twitching in the head of the sperm, mechanically synchronizing the sperm tail movement to the new head movement.
The centriole has historically been considered a rigid structure that acts like a shock absorber.
"We think the atypical centriole in the sperm's neck is an evolutionary innovation whose function is to make your sperm move better," said Dr. Tomer Avidor-Reiss, professor of biological sciences in the UToledo College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. "Reproductive ...
People with high-deductible health plans less likely to seek ER treatment for chest pain
2021-06-28
DALLAS, June 28, 2021 -- People who must spend $1,000 or more annually in out-of-pocket medical deductibles under their health care insurance plan were less likely to seek care in the ER for chest pain and less likely to be admitted to the hospital during these visits, compared to people who have health insurance plans with an annual deductible of $500 or less, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association's flagship journal Circulation.
Chest pain can occur when the heart muscle doesn't get enough oxygen-rich blood. It may feel like pressure or squeezing in the chest. The discomfort also can occur in the shoulders, arms, neck, jaw or back and may also feel like indigestion. Chest pain may be a symptom of an underlying heart problem, usually coronary heart disease ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Heat and heavy metals are changing the way that bees buzz
What’s behind the enormous increase in early-onset gastrointestinal cancers?
Pharmacogenomics expert advances precision medicine for bipolar disorder
Brazilian researcher explores centenarian stem cells for aging insights
Dr. Xuyu Qian's breakthrough analysis of 18 million brain cells advances understanding of human brain development
Gene networks decode human brain architecture from health to glioma
How artificial light at night damages brain health and metabolism
For ultrasound, ultra-strength not always a good thing
Matching your workouts to your personality could make exercising more enjoyable and give you better results
Study shows people perceive biodiversity
Personality type can predict which forms of exercise people enjoy
People can accurately judge biodiversity through sight and sound
People diagnosed with dementia are living longer, global study shows
When domesticated rabbits go feral, new morphologies emerge
Rain events could cause major failure of Waikīkī storm drainage by 2050
Breakthrough in upconversion luminescence research: Uncovering the energy back transfer mechanism
Hidden role of 'cell protector' opens cancer treatment possibilities
How plants build the microbiome they need to survive in a tough environment
Depression due to politics and its quiet danger to democracy addressed in new book 'The Sad Citizen'
International experts and patients unite to help ensure all patients are fully informed before consenting to new surgical procedures
Melting glaciers could trigger more explosive eruptions globally, finds research
Nearly half of U.S. grandchildren live within 10 miles of a grandparent
Study demonstrates low-cost method to remove CO₂ from air using cold temperatures, common materials
Masonic Medical Research Institute (MMRI) welcomes 13 students to prestigious Summer Fellowship program
Mass timber could elevate hospital construction
A nuanced model of soil moisture illuminates plant behavior and climate patterns
$2.6 million NIH grant backs search for genetic cure in deadly heart disease
Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis program changed drastically when anxiety was added as a qualifying condition
1 in 5 overweight adults could be reclassified with obesity according to new framework
Findings of study on how illegally manufactured fentanyl enters U.S. contradict common assumptions, undermining efforts to control supply
[Press-News.org] Study reveals over a £1 million in payments from pharma companies to APPGsUniversity of Bath press release