Dr Peter J Gordon and Dr Sian F Gordon: rapid response, 11 December 2024:
Dear Editor
In his response to this opinion article [1] Dr Aggarwal of the ABPI accuses the authors of being ‘lazy’, ‘unjustified’ and ‘provocative’ [2]. He states that this ‘undermines the ability to have a proper discussion‘: however his own defensive language only serves to polarise the debate further. The concern here is that this will only continue to impede progress in this area.
Patient harm associated with the promotion of new interventions, including pharmaceuticals, is not a myth [3]. More than four years have passed since Baroness Cumberlege published her report ‘First Do No Harm‘. At the very least the call by Van Tulleken, Rollins and Coombes for conflicts of interest to be removed from would-be regulators should be implemented without delay.