GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is in the news again making headlines after having to settle another major lawsuit bringing the latest total to over $9.1 billion since 2003. This time, it is due to GSK’s product Pandemrix, which was the swine flu vaccine forced upon the public during the pandemic of 2009. Read more…
Congress authorized the CDC to accept “external gifts” from industry and private parties in 1983, and in 1992 passed legislation for the creation of a nonprofit foundation to encourage relationships between industry and the agency.
In fiscal year 2014, the CDC Foundation raised $52 million, $12 million of that from Big Pharma.
Also in 2014, the CDC received $16 million in direct funding from corporations, individuals and foundations, including the CDC Foundation, which makes the foundation nothing more than a pass-through organization. Read more…
Founded in the early 1970s to promote right-wing policies at the state level, the American Legislative Exchange Council’s focus has shifted to favor the promotion of state legislation and regulation that benefits its corporate sponsors. A fact that should come as no surprise given its funding by right-wing foundations and corporate membership fees ranging from $5000 to $50,000. The council boasts a large clearinghouse of research, model bills, and legislative strategies to promote its agenda.
ALEC: A vast STATE Network of State Legislator members whose mission is to pass bills supporting national intention.
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
1129 20th Street NW – Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036
Website: www.alec.org
Founders: Paul Weyrich, Henry Hyde, Lou Barnett, and others
Executive Director: Ron Scheberle
Board Members: South Carolina Representative Liston Barfield; Utah Senator Curt Bramble; North Carolina Representative Harold Brubaker; Indiana Senator Jim Buck; Texas Representative Tom Craddick; New Mexico Senator Kent Cravens; Mississippi Representative Jim Ellington; Louisiana Representative Noble Ellington; Indiana Representative Dave Frizzell; Mississippi Senator Billy Hewes III; Virginia Representative Bill Howell; New York Senator Owen Johnson; Arkansas Senator Michael Lamoureux; Tennessee Representative Steve McDaniel; Kansas Senator Ray Merrick; Connecticut Representative John Piscopo; Nevada Senator Bill Raggio; Nevada Senator Dean Rhoads; Georgia Senator Chip Rogers; Ohio Senator William Seitz; Tennessee Representative Curry Todd; Iowa Representative Linda Upmeyer; Kansas Senator Susan Wagle.
Vaccine bills are supported by medical trade associations that receive money from pharmaceutical corporations selling vaccines in the U.S., including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), March of Dimes, Every Child by Two and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
Read a few of the dangerous bills
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Two former Merck & Co Inc scientists accusing the drugmaker of falsifying tests of its exclusive mumps vaccine said in a court filing on Monday that Merck is refusing to respond to questions about the efficacy of the vaccine.
Attorneys at Constantine Cannon, who represent the scientists, asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Lynne Sitarski of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to compel Merck to respond to their discovery request, which asks the company to give the efficacy of the vaccine as a percentage.
Instead of answering the question, the letter said, Merck has been consistently evasive, using “cut-and-paste” answers saying it cannot run a new clinical trial to determine the current efficacy, and providing only data from 50 years ago.
“Merck should not be permitted to raise as one of its principal defenses that its vaccine has a high efficacy, which is accurately represented on the product’s label, but then refuse to answer what it claims that efficacy actually is,” the letter said.
A representative of Merck could not immediately be reached for comment. (See: Merck accused of stonewalling in mumps vaccine antitrust lawsuit)