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A review by samdalefox
Pharmanomics: How Big Pharma Destroys Global Health by NIck Dearden
challenging
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
4.5
I have worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 10 years. There was a lot in this book I did know and an awful lot I didn't. Overall, I think the book is well researched, comprehensive, and ambitious in trying to make the information accessible to people who know nothing about the industry. The TLDR message of the book is: The pharmaceutical industry operates in such a way that it does not produce medical products (drugs, devices, vaccines etc.) to adequately address global health needs, and in many cases operates in a way that worsens global health outcomes.
Important note: I read this as an audiobook and hated the format. I didn't enjoy the narrator's voice and I couldn't look up references as I went as I typically would (there were a couple of points I thought were mistakes and would like to have checked). The subject matter is dense and I personally think it's much better suited to physical print so the reader can take the information at their own pace and flip back and forth between pages to remind themselves of salient points. As such, I'm going to read the book again via a physical copy and see if that changes my rating. It will certainly improve my retainment of knowledge from the book. I do not recommend reading this as an audiobook.
In brief the book covers:
Important note: I read this as an audiobook and hated the format. I didn't enjoy the narrator's voice and I couldn't look up references as I went as I typically would (there were a couple of points I thought were mistakes and would like to have checked). The subject matter is dense and I personally think it's much better suited to physical print so the reader can take the information at their own pace and flip back and forth between pages to remind themselves of salient points. As such, I'm going to read the book again via a physical copy and see if that changes my rating. It will certainly improve my retainment of knowledge from the book. I do not recommend reading this as an audiobook.
In brief the book covers:
- A history of scandals (this is limited to those related to profit, there are many more scandals exlusive to ethics and not profit motivated that are not mentioned here if you are interested e.g., the Tuskegee Trials etc.)
- A very good explanation of how the industry has become finalicialised since the 1980s onwards. I have personally seen this in operation from 2015 onwards in my personal career. It's spot on, this is exactly how the industry operates.
- Uses the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study to explore how the pharmaceutical industry acts globally in relation to academic research, the state, multilateral agreements and legislation, organisations like WHO and the WTO, different healthcare systems in various countries, and ultimately patient accessibility to vaccines.
- A critical examination of patent law development e.g, TRIPS
- An analysis of how financialisation, patent laws, and other health economic aspects links to historical and contemporary-colonisation of the global south
- In the final chapter there are examples given from various countries of proposals of how to reform the system with the aim of improving public health.
As with all books of this ilk, I would like a greater proportion focussing on the solutions. I'd especially like to see some fully fleshed out thoughts around revolutionary solutions, not reformist solutions. However, the solutions cited here came from a good range of global sources so I'm happier than usual. :)
Overall: a necessary book that is ambitious is scope, but diligently introduces readers to the important aspects of the pharmaceutical industry. I beleive the book substantiates its claims with copius credible examples and is reasonable in its criticism.