This is from the Pain Medicine News, September 22, 2016

I've been pretty sceptical with the kind of research that is coming out all at once against opiods. When scientist's careers are threatened if they have a contrary view, science in corrumpted. Politicians shouldn't be involved.

Grants and Funding: Is ‘Fahrenheit 451’ Today’s Reality?

By Lynn R. Webster, MD

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently removed two very respected scholars, Mary Lynn McPherson, PharmD, and Gregory Terman, MD, PhD—along with other doctors—from the FDA medical advisory panel. They will not officially disclose their reasons for removing Dr. McPherson and the other highly qualified doctors from the panel. However, the ousting apparently was motivated by a letter that was sent to the panel by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). In it, the senator pointed out that Dr. McPherson received grants and funding for medical residents worth at least $300,000.

According to a Baltimore Sun article, Dr. McPherson, who teaches at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, and specializes in hospice and end-of-life care, received funds from Purdue Pharma in Dr. McPherson’s name to provide students with education and training. It is common practice for industry to give unrestricted, specified grants to universities and professional societies for research and to promote education.

Furthermore, Dr. McPherson did not personally receive any of the funds, according to Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, dean of the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. In the Baltimore Sun article, Dr. Eddington says, “Her expertise as a world-renowned educator and practitioner would have been invaluable in formulating new strategies for dealing with the opioid addiction crisis facing the United States.”

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Apparently, Dr. Terman was removed from the panel because he is president of the American Pain Society. The American Pain Society—not Dr. Terman personally—has received funds from industry.

According to the National Academies website, some funding for the organization itself comes from industry. Apparently, there is a double standard employed when evaluating its own organization and those who participate on an FDA advisory panel.

Do Associations Create Bias? Not Always

That said, removing Drs. McPherson and Terman from an FDA advisory panel is shortsighted. It is part of an ongoing effort to, in effect, punish and silence anyone who is associated with an opioid pharmaceutical company. Some people assume that such associations must create bias and cause conflicts of interest. Certainly, such associations do not create any more bias than does the act of intentionally dampening the voices of different perspectives and rejecting the contributions of esteemed researchers.

The National Academies’ removal of dedicated physicians and researchers from an FDA medical advisory panel limits freedom of professional expression. If this were an isolated incident, that would be worrying enough. But it appears to be part of a trend. Many individuals (or organizations) who advocate for people in pain are being discredited or silenced. This is causing incalculable harm to people in pain, and the implications are very disturbing.

There is real danger associated with Sen. Wyden’s attempt to purge members who have any connection with industry. It’s more than a serious threat to our patients. It is even threatening the democratic process by limiting participation (and the ability to provide input) in a regulatory group to those people who think in a certain way.

Eliminating people who have any association with pharma is, in essence, stacking the deck. It creates a special interest group that’s empowered to influence policy. The unfortunate irony is that this attempt to limit bias is creating bias.

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It is reminiscent of Ray Bradbury’s 1953 award-winning book (and, of course, the fine film that was based on the book), “Fahrenheit 451,” in which a government determines books need to be burned to suppress opposing views and to abolish free thought. Firefighters were to protect society not by putting out blazes but, instead, by starting them and ensuring that all literary contraband was burned (and their owners imprisoned).

I hope Dr. McPherson, Dr. Terman and their colleagues who are caught in the maze of accusations and innuendo will resist the barrage of criticisms and speak up for their right to be heard. It should not matter whether a panel member is from pharma, a payor or a consumer. Everyone’s views in a democracy must be valued.

Of course, if Congress really wants to sanitize the panel, it will need to remove anyone who has ties to insurance, including Medicare. Therefore, since the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention receive money from payors and pharma, they should be stricken from the panel, too.

Legislators Accept Funding, But Researchers Can’t

In fact, the government and many of its politicians are funded, in part, by insurance companies and pharma. Sen. Wyden is one of those politicians. So where do we draw the line? Legislators can accept campaign contributions from pharma, but researchers cannot accept funding from them? It doesn’t appear to be a level playing field.

Sen. Wyden may have written that letter in an earnest attempt to help solve the opioid crisis. I am not questioning his intentions. But he is seriously misguided on this issue.

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Finally, I urge the National Academies to rethink their position. Today, funding by pharma might be deemed inappropriate for an adviser to government. But, tomorrow, it might be someone who receives funding to combat climate change or to conduct cancer research who is prevented from being part of the national discussion about critical issues. Where does the purging of thoughts stop?

If Ray Bradbury were to write his famous book today, it may have a chapter on how governmental advisory committee members can be selected to control thoughts and regulatory decisions.

Lynn R. Webster, MD, is a past president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine and author of “The Painful Truth: What Chronic Pain Is Really Like and Why It Matters to Each of Us.” Visit www.thepainfultruthbook.com. He also is a member of the Pain Medicine News editorial advisory board. He lives in Salt Lake City.