Role of physicians in the pharmaceutical industry and clinical research organizations: take more pride in your work.

ABSTRACT

Physicians working in biopharmaceutical companies are key components in the successful development of new diagnostic and therapeutic developments. They have a high level of responsibility for the safe performance of clinical studies and for evaluating the efficacy of new potential treatments in patients. Recently, articles in highly ranked scientific journals have challenged this work. This article highlights the shortcomings of those views. In contrast, we document that the majority of the physicians working in the pharmaceutical industry provide extremely high-quality work, in part forced by the rigorous regulatory framework this work has to comply with nowadays. We promote an open (and critical!) discussion while sharing industrial views and opinions with colleagues from academia. Only by a constructive cooperation between both worlds, avoiding a black-and-white view, will we achieve an instrumental and effective way in developing new and affordable diagnostic and therapeutic tools that are truly helpful and affordable for patients. If physicians in the industry take more pride in their work, this would be helpful in fostering such an approach.