Most Health-Advocacy Groups Don’t Disclose Drug Maker’s Grants: Study - Health Blog - WSJ

By Katherine Hobson

Only a quarter of health-advocacy organizations that received grants from Eli Lilly noted the contributions on their websites — and none disclosed the amount, according to a new study.

The analysis, published in the American Journal of Public Health, covered the $3.2 million in grants made during the first half of 2007. (Lilly was chosen because it was the first drug maker to publicly release its grant registry, the authors write.)

Researchers identified the grantees and then combed every page on their websites for mention of the project or program being funded. Of the 161 sites they examined, 25% acknowledged the funding anywhere on the site, 18% mentioned the funding in a 2007 annual report, 10% identified Lilly as the sponsor of the specific program or project and 1% acknowledged the company on a corporate sponsorship page.

As Lilly itself has acknowledged, its grants tend to go to organizations working in fields in which it sells a lot of drugs, or hopes to: neurosciences, oncology and endocrinology.

Further reading:

• Mental Health Group’s State Chapters Get Millions From Pharma
• Coca-Cola Funds Family Doc Group; What Do You Think?
• Heart Association Chief: ‘Good Intentions Are Not Enough’

Image: iStockphoto

via blogs.wsj.com

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