Some of you may have spotted “big bad” pharma’s cameo in the new Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom movie. It’s not central to the plot; just a one-line mention of a (shifty) biopharma CEO who wants to acquire a dinosaur to explore new bioactives. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t go into further details about how dinosaurs could influence modern medicine – or the many other burning questions I’m sure we all have. How does one perform tests on a dinosaur? Is a special facility required? Would the resulting “dinomab” be suitable for next generation bioprocessing techniques? Is there a disaster recovery plan in case the dinosaur rampages? (Of course not). And how on earth would regulators react to dinosaur-derived medicines?
Clearly, we shouldn’t read too much into pharma’s frequent portrayal as the fictional villain –any organization that performs experiments is juicy inspiration for a storyline. That said, Hollywood does like to tap into popular opinion and, right now, the general population has a low opinion of pharma. In the US, Edelman’s annual Trust Barometer survey shows that pharma companies saw a notable drop in trust between 2016 and 2017 – from 51 percent to 38 percent. You can read more on here.
With trust in pharma falling, it’s no surprise that the age-old anti-vaccination argument is also rearing its ugly head again. In the US, pockets of “intense anti-vaccine activity” are increasing. In Camas County, Idaho, more than a quarter of young children lack at least some vaccinations (1). The problem also affects other countries. At the start of June, the World Health Organization warned against an increasing anti-vaccination trend in Turkey, for example (2). In Australia, anti-vaxers recently erected a billboard that simply stated, “Do you know what’s in a vaccine?” (Fortunately, it wasn’t long before someone spray painted “Common sense” to the sign) (3).
It is 2018; dozens of studies have proven that vaccination is safe and highly beneficial. Whatever a pharma company’s ultimate driver is – from altruism to corporate greed – there are regulations in place to protect us from badly designed vaccines and other therapeutics derived from unscrupulous sources (as exemplified by FDA’s crackdown on stem-cell clinics (4).
What is in a vaccine? Proven science, common sense – and absolutely no dinosaurs (yet).
Stephanie Sutton
Editor
- JJK Olive at al., “The state of the antivaccine movement in the United States: A focused examination of nonmedical exemptions in states and counties,” PLOS Medicine, 15, 2018.
- Hurriyet Daily News, “WHO warns against ‘increasing anti-vaccination trend’ in Turkey,” (2018). Available at: bit.ly/2MF0IQD. Last accessed June 19, 2018.
- Perth Now, “Perth anti-vaccination billboard attracts vandal with a message of their own,” (2018). Available at: bit.ly/2K50wfk. Last accessed June 19, 2018.
- J Strachan, “FDA Quackdown”, The Medicine Maker, 42, 8 (2018). Available at: bit.ly/2KUpWgP
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