Big Pharma conspiracy theory

The Big Pharma conspiracy theory is a group of conspiracy

theories that claim that the medical community in general and
pharmaceutical companies in particular, especially large
corporations, operate for sinister purposes and against the public
good, and that they allegedly cause and worsen a wide range of
diseases.[1][2]
History and definition
The term Big Pharma is used to refer collectively to the global
pharmaceutical industry. According to Steve Novella the term has
come to connote a demonized form of the pharmaceutical
industry.[3] Professor of writing Robert Blaskiewicz has written
that conspiracy theorists use the term Big Pharma as "shorthand
for an abstract entity comprising corporations, regulators, NGOs,
politicians, and often physicians, all with a finger in the trillion-
dollar prescription pharmaceutical pie".[1]
According to Blaskiewicz, the Big Pharma conspiracy theory has
four classic traits: first, the assumption that the conspiracy is
perpetrated by a small malevolent cadre; secondly, the belief that
the public at large is ignorant of the truth; thirdly, that its
believers treat lack of evidence as evidence; and finally, that the
arguments deployed in support of the theory are irrational,
misconceived, or otherwise mistaken.[1]
Manifestations
The conspiracy theory has a variety of different specific
manifestations. Each has different narratives, but they always cast
"Big Pharma" as the villain of the piece.[1] Some of the most
prominent variants include the following:
Alternative treatments
In Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About, Kevin
Trudeau proposes that there are all-natural cures for serious
illnesses including cancer, herpes, arthritis, AIDS, acid reflux
disease, various phobias, depression, obesity, diabetes, multiple
sclerosis, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, attention deficit
disorder, muscular dystrophy, and that these are all being
deliberately hidden and suppressed from the public by the Food
and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, and the
major food and drug companies.[4]
HIV/AIDS
In a 2006 column for Harper's Magazine, journalist Celia Farber
claimed that the antiretroviral drug nevirapine was part of a
conspiracy by the "scientific-medical complex" to spread toxic
drugs.[5] Farber said that AIDS is not caused by HIV and that
nevirapine had been unethically administered to pregnant women
in clinical trials, leading to a fatality.[5] Farber's theories and
claims were refuted by scientists, but, according to Seth
Kalichman, the resulting publicity represented a breakthrough
moment for AIDS denialism.[6]
Hidden cancer cure
The idea that big pharma has a cure for cancer and is suppressing
it so that they can maintain a profit is believed by as much as 27%
of the American public according to a 2005 survey.[7] The
argument is that pharmaceutical companies are slowing down
research for a comprehensive cure for cancer by developing high-
profit, single-purpose treatments rather than focusing on a
supposed cure-all for all cancers;[8] however, the idea that holding
back a cure would result in more profit than presenting one is not
considered a very strong argument.[9][10] This manifestation also
largely ignores the fact that cancer is not a single disease but
instead many and that large strides have been made in the fight
against it.[11]
Steven Novella writes, in Skepticblog, about the general
misunderstanding and sensationalizing of cancer research that
typically accompanies a conspiratorial mindset. He points out that
cures for cancer, rather than being hidden, are not the cures they
are initially touted to be by the media and either result in a dead
end, further research goals, or a decrease in the mortality rate for
a specific type of cancer.[12]
In 2016 David Robert Grimes published a research paper
elaborating about the mathematical non-viability of conspiracy
theories in general.[13] He specifically showed that if there was an
actual big pharma conspiracy to conceal a cure for cancer that it
would take about 3.2 years for it to get exposed due to the sheer
number of people required to keep it secret.[14]
Reception
Novella writes that while the pharmaceutical industry has a
number of aspects which justly deserve criticism, the
"demonization" of it is both cynical and intellectually lazy.[3] He
goes on to consider that overblown attacks on Big Pharma
actually let the pharmaceutical industry "off the hook" since they
distract from and tarnish more considered criticisms.[3] In his 2012
book Bad Pharma, Ben Goldacre criticises the pharmaceutical
industry but rejects any conspiracy theories. He argues that the
problems are "perpetrated by ordinary people, but many of them
may not even know what they've done."[15]
An argument against the U.S. government taking part in the
suppression of cures is the Orphan Drug Act of 1983 wherein
incentives are created for developing treatments for disease which
the treatments have no profitable outcomes for the companies
involved.[16]
A common claim among proponents of the conspiracy theory is
that pharmaceutical companies suppress negative research about
their drugs by financially pressuring researchers and journals.
There are in fact papers critical of specific drugs published in
journals on a regular basis.[17] A prominent and recent example
was a systematic review published in the British Medical Journal
showing that paracetamol is ineffective for lower back pain and
has minimal effectiveness for osteoarthritis.[18]