Letters to the Editor: It’s frustrating that the sick and suffering must hold Big Pharma accountable
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To the editor: I greatly appreciated the op-ed on the slow rollout of ALS drugs (“Fuel drug development, not Big Pharma’s profits,” May 12). Thanks so much to guest contributor Kevin J. Morrison for shedding light on the dark corners of medical innovation.
I had no idea that new and potentially life-changing medicines from smaller firms were often hamstrung this way by Big Pharma. I’d never heard of the “key opinion leaders” review process. No doubt, they prefer it that way.
It’s deeply frustrating that it is the sick and suffering who must scream from rooftops for profit-driven medical systems to come under necessary scrutiny. But I’ll say, Morrison’s unrelenting optimism is as contagious as it is eye-opening.
Kristin Sgroi, Pittsburgh
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To the editor: What I don’t understand is who the “key opinion leaders” are, and why they have a role as gatekeepers of scientific research. Science isn’t (at least to my knowledge) supposed to be based on opinions so much as — dare I say it — facts. Objective evidence.
Perhaps the Los Angeles Times should investigate this further.
Kathryn Blume, Charlotte, Vt.
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To the editor: Thank you for publishing the opinion piece discussing the importance of increasing funding for ALS treatment research. There are more than 30,000 of us in the U.S. with ALS and we have little hope of improving our condition. More research funding is needed to find treatments that will stabilize or reverse our devastating disease.
David Rempel, Point Reyes Station, Calif.
