from

www.ahrp.org

To understand how Big Pharma buys influence, The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) is a good exempl e.

DBSA bills itself as a grass roots organization that: "throughout 2003 over 4 million people asked DSBA for help." T he DBSA website has multiple "self assessment" tools to assist interested persons in self-diagnosis f or a variety of conditions.
The site offers "testimonials" from "real people" who credit medications for their recoveries.

While claiming to be member supported, at a minimum 90% of DBSA'a income comes from the drug industry. The DBSA 2003 annual report shows who the major donors are:

The "Leadership Circle" consists of donors of $150,000 or more. Listed are: Abbott Labs, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Meyers Squibb,Elan Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen and Pfizer.
The "Founders Club" consists of donors of $10,000 to $149,000. These include: Cyberonics, Forest Labs, Merck, Organon, Wyeth.
The "Advocate Council" consists of donors of $5,000 to $9,999. These include: the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMSHA).
The "Platinum" donors of $1,000 to $4,999 include TAP Pharmaceutical
See: http://www.dbsalliance.org/PDF/AnnReptFINAL.pdf

Allen Jones, AHRP board member who blew the whistle on the Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP) --psychiatry's prescribing guide for dummies-- saw one report in which only $14,000 out of DBSA's three million dollar budget came from "memberships".

DBSA's board of directors have long-standing close ties to industry.
For example, the DBSA 2003 Annual Report lists Dennis S. Charney, M.D. as Chairman of its Scientific Advisory Board.

Dr. Charney, currently Chief of the Mood and Anxiety Disorder Research Program and Chief of the Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health . He was formerly Professor of Psychiatry and Deputy Chair of Academic and Scientific Affairs, Yale University School of Medicine.

Dr. Charney has extensive ties to pharmaceutical companies:

Member of the clinical advisory board for Avera Pharmaceuticals. (http://averapharm.com/cab.html <http://averapharm.com/cab.html> ;

Member of the scientific advisory board for Comprehensive Neuroscience, Inc. (http://www.icsltd.net/corporate/scientific.html <http://www.icsltd.net/corporate/scientific.html> ;

Member of the Infoscriber Corporation's scientific advisory board. (http://www.infoscriber.com/content/Scriber_Spring2000.pdf <http://www.infoscriber.com/content/Scriber_Spring2000.pdf> ;

Member of the psychiatry advisory board for Scirex, Inc. (http://www.icsltd.net/corporate/scientific.html <http://www.icsltd.net/corporate/scientific.html> ;

Member of the academic advisory board for the Pfizer postdoctoral fellowship grants in biological psychiatry program. (http://www.physicianscientist.com/postdoctorate_fellowships/pdfs/2003bio_psych_broch.pdf <http://www.physicianscientist.com/postdoctorate_fellowships/pdfs/2003bio_psych_broch.pdf> ;

Member of the Mechanism of Action advisory board for Cyberonics, Inc. (Cyberonics Press Release, August 13, 2003; accessed 12/4/03; on file with CSPI)

Consultant to AstraZeneca, Abbott Laboratories, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cypress Bioscience, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Merck, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Organon, Pfizer, SmithKline Beecham (now GlaxoSmithKline), Somerset Pharmaceuticals, and Vela Pharmaceuticals.

(American College of Neuropsychopharmacology 41st Annual Meeting General Program; conference disclosure notes, December 2002, San Juan, Puerto Rico, http://www.acnp.org/pdffiles/Program_Book.pdf <http://www.acnp.org/pdffiles/Program_Book.pdf> ; pg. 186; accessed 12/4/03)