Physicians for Clinical Responsibility

Physicians for Clinical Responsibility was formed by a group of retinal surgeons to address the ethical and financial issues related to pharmaceutical industry influence upon medical care choices. Most recently, we have been alarmed by the rapidly escalating cost of drugs, particularly when extremely costly drugs seem to offer no clear advantage over much less expensive medications. Growing health care costs are not financially sustainable, and we are concerned that rising drug costs in particular will seriously impair the ability of our health care system to address essential health care needs of our citizens.

The pharmaceutical industry plays an important role in drug development, but we are concerned about its growing control over academic research, drug regulation and legislation, and medical education, including medical conferences and medical publications. Like all corporations, pharmaceutical companies are dedicated to making money. This is problematic only when there is insufficient counter-balance from institutions designed to protect the public good.

This website has been designed to allow professionals to express views that are not necessarily favorable to the pharmaceutical industry and that have generally received little hearing in drug-company sponsored publications. The essay Avastin vs. Lucentis: Why It Matters exemplifies our core concerns. We welcome comments and submissions via the links above.