By Shannon Brownlee
The fight over the comparative effectiveness research bill (S 3408) introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Senate Budget Committee Chair Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) is going to come in two phases, and opposition to it is going to come from two difference sources. The first phase of opposition will start any day now, and it will be fought in op-ed pages and up on the Hill. The opponents? The drug and device industries.
The word on the street is that the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) is poised to launch a multi-million dollar PR campaign aimed at persuading the American people that comparative effectiveness research is bad for your health. Step number one will be to argue that government funded trials are always going to be biased in order to come up with answers that will save the government money.
