Mass Insanity

Last month two Massachusetts scientists won the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award. Commonly called "America's Nobel Prize," the Lasker Award is the country's most prestigious honor for medical breakthroughs. It was given to BayState biologists for their work on gene expression, the results of which show unprecedented promise in the efforts to combat disease.

The win is a testament to the strength of Massachusetts' medical research community. Yet local legislators have recently instituted a law likely to undermine the inter-industry partnerships essential to just this sort of cutting-edge scientific discovery.

In August, Gov. Deval L. Patrick signed a bill requiring pharmaceutical firms to report to state officials any payments over $50 made to physicians, academic scientists, or other medical professionals. The information - including the names of the people getting paid - will be posted on a public Web site. The bill goes into effect Jan. 1, and provides for fines of up to $5,000 for non-compliance.

This disclosure law is supposed to increase transparency. State officials are understandably worried that money from drug makers could unduly influence research results or physicians' practices. And they want to ensure that patients know if their healthcare provider has a financial incentive to recommend certain treatments.

 
But publishing this information suggests that there is something wrong with medical professionals working with the pharmaceutical industry. There isn't.

Physicians rely on drug makers for up-to-date information about new treatments. Drug makers in turn rely on doctors for feedback on the real-world clinical effects of their pills - the kind of information that can't be acquired in a laboratory.

The law is also unnecessary. This summer, the drug industry announced strict new limits on sales personnel, banning them from buying lavish meals or giving gifts of any sort during meetings with physicians. Since physicians are often only available for non-patient work during lunchtime, sales reps will only be allowed to pay for the occasional modest meal at a doctor's office, as long as it's "in conjunction with informational presentations."

And under the new guidelines, sales reps are strictly prohibited from passing along information that is anything other than educational.The BayState's disclosure law will stigmatize the doctors it publicizes. Many might leave Massachusetts in favor of a state with a healthier regulatory environment. That would make a bad situation worse: Nearly a quarter of the state's physicians are already considering leaving or are planning to leave because of legal controls on clinical practices, according to a Massachusetts Medical Society report.

The law will also have a dampening effect on academic medical research.

Funds provided by private firms don't compromise lab work they're essential to getting the research off the ground in the first place. Many of Massachusetts' academic medical centers are currently conducting research in partnership with pharmaceutical companies.Scientists are likely to give up on research projects that require corporate sponsorship for fear of jeopardizing their reputations.

Biopharmaceutical companies employ around 55,000 Massachusetts residents, according to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. If researchers start leaving the state to avoid stigmatization, investment dollars and jobs will follow. And that means fewer breakthrough cures from the commonwealth.

Ironically enough, this law's passage comes at a time when state legislators are making a concerted effort elsewhere to bolster the BayState's medical research industry. In June, Gov. Deval L. Patrick approved a 10-year, $1 billion biotechnology initiative, meant to expand investment in state-level research projects.

This new disclosure law hinders those efforts. It will stifle life science innovation, choke off investment dollars into new cures, and destroy medical sector jobs. Patients, physicians, researchers, and average citizens alike should be outraged.