Episode
#263 – John Abramson: Big Pharma
2:24:13
Published: Fri Feb 11 2022
Description
John Abramson is faculty at Harvard Medical School and a family physician for over two decades. He's the author of the new book Sickening about how big pharma broke American healthcare and how we can fix it. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Noom: https://trynoom.com/lex - Notion: https://notion.com/startups to get up to $1000 off team plan - InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/lex and use code Lex25 to get 25% off - Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/lex and use code LEX to get 1 month of fish oil - Onnit: https://lexfridman.com/onnit to get up to 10% off EPISODE LINKS: John's Website: https://hcp.hms.harvard.edu/people/john-david-abramson Sickening (book): https://amzn.to/3gsVHef Overdosed America (book): https://amzn.to/3LmrWKn PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) - Introduction (14:29) - Biggest problem with big pharma (23:30) - Advertising (43:22) - Corruption (59:38) - Pfizer vaccine data (1:08:30) - Vaccine profits (1:19:25) - Censorship (1:40:11) - FDA (1:48:45) - NIH (1:57:42) - Live longer (2:01:13) - Medications (2:09:37) - Doctors (2:13:44) - Advice for young people (2:14:40) - Big pharma's influence (2:19:24) - Mortality (2:21:15) - Meaning of life
Chapters
The speaker believes that conversations with leaders and authors should be conducted in true long-form, allowing for a deeper understanding of complex topics and ideas.
00:00 - 06:53 (06:53)
Summary
The speaker believes that conversations with leaders and authors should be conducted in true long-form, allowing for a deeper understanding of complex topics and ideas. He emphasizes the importance of empathizing with all human beings and avoiding contaminating conversations with personal opinions or biases.
Episode#263 – John Abramson: Big Pharma
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
InsideTracker provides personalized health recommendations based on machine learning analysis of various data types, while Athletic Greens is a daily nutritional supplement.
06:53 - 14:37 (07:44)
Summary
InsideTracker provides personalized health recommendations based on machine learning analysis of various data types, while Athletic Greens is a daily nutritional supplement.
Episode#263 – John Abramson: Big Pharma
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The strict rules imposed on drug companies regarding advertising may not be enough as some pharmaceutical companies engage in aggressive advertising campaigns.
14:37 - 29:21 (14:44)
Summary
The strict rules imposed on drug companies regarding advertising may not be enough as some pharmaceutical companies engage in aggressive advertising campaigns. The Pfizer CEO denies engaging in such practices, citing the company's culture and values as the reason for their behavior.
Episode#263 – John Abramson: Big Pharma
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The study compares the effectiveness of metformin, intensive lifestyle counseling, and placebo in reducing the risk of diabetes in pre-diabetic patients, highlighting the need to compare drug therapy with healthy lifestyle adoption for prevention purposes.
29:21 - 40:52 (11:31)
Summary
The study compares the effectiveness of metformin, intensive lifestyle counseling, and placebo in reducing the risk of diabetes in pre-diabetic patients, highlighting the need to compare drug therapy with healthy lifestyle adoption for prevention purposes.
Episode#263 – John Abramson: Big Pharma
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The Vioxx drug recall in 2004 was a result of a study sponsored by Merck which showed that the drug doubled the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots.
40:52 - 52:38 (11:46)
Summary
The Vioxx drug recall in 2004 was a result of a study sponsored by Merck which showed that the drug doubled the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots. The company, however, had manipulated the study and abbreviated its endpoint to just heart attacks to downplay the risk while its data safety model board member was given a consulting contract with Merck within two weeks of the decision to stop counting heart attacks.
Episode#263 – John Abramson: Big Pharma
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The podcast discusses the importance of making medical research more transparent and accessible to citizen scientists and other interested parties, while still ensuring confidentiality agreements are in place to protect data from being copied or misused.
52:38 - 59:53 (07:14)
Summary
The podcast discusses the importance of making medical research more transparent and accessible to citizen scientists and other interested parties, while still ensuring confidentiality agreements are in place to protect data from being copied or misused.
Episode#263 – John Abramson: Big Pharma
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The author discusses his concerns about the lack of release of Pfizer vaccine data, which has not been opened up since the early clinical trial data and was not reviewed in an advisory committee meeting before the FDA granted full authorization.
59:53 - 1:13:13 (13:20)
Summary
The author discusses his concerns about the lack of release of Pfizer vaccine data, which has not been opened up since the early clinical trial data and was not reviewed in an advisory committee meeting before the FDA granted full authorization.
Episode#263 – John Abramson: Big Pharma
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Instead of censoring scientists, they should be given power and responsibility to effectively communicate scientific information and release data in a way that is easily understandable.
1:13:14 - 1:25:36 (12:22)
Summary
Instead of censoring scientists, they should be given power and responsibility to effectively communicate scientific information and release data in a way that is easily understandable. The low vaccination rate in May 2021 led to a cry for help from global organizations to avoid litigation and increase vaccination rates in third world countries.
Episode#263 – John Abramson: Big Pharma
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The discussion revolves around the need for real-time fact-checking by a group of independent people while recording a podcast to fact check statements made on the podcast.
1:25:36 - 1:38:40 (13:03)
Summary
The discussion revolves around the need for real-time fact-checking by a group of independent people while recording a podcast to fact check statements made on the podcast. They suggest a balanced discussion and independent expert opinions to ensure healthy conversational exchanges free of misinformation.
Episode#263 – John Abramson: Big Pharma
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The head of the FDA, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research issued a statement to loosen the prohibition of financial ties of interest with drug companies.
1:38:40 - 1:47:11 (08:31)
Summary
The head of the FDA, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research issued a statement to loosen the prohibition of financial ties of interest with drug companies. Meanwhile, the target for drug development for Alzheimer's disease has been reducing amyloid plaques in the brain to prevent the progression of low-grade Alzheimer's disease.
Episode#263 – John Abramson: Big Pharma
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The drug companies invest in research and when they find beneficial targets, they invest in developing specific drugs.
1:47:11 - 1:53:59 (06:47)
Summary
The drug companies invest in research and when they find beneficial targets, they invest in developing specific drugs. Communicating the importance of investing in health is necessary to invest more and more in health leading to drug and vaccine development.
Episode#263 – John Abramson: Big Pharma
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The US is spending a considerably higher percentage of the GDP on healthcare than other countries, yet has low performance on healthcare outcomes as compared to other highly developed nations.
1:53:59 - 2:01:02 (07:03)
Summary
The US is spending a considerably higher percentage of the GDP on healthcare than other countries, yet has low performance on healthcare outcomes as compared to other highly developed nations. This is due to the ratio of social spending to medical spending, which remains a problem.
Episode#263 – John Abramson: Big Pharma
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Antidepressants are being overprescribed, particularly for non-major depression, due to the false impression created by drug companies.
2:01:02 - 2:10:24 (09:21)
Summary
Antidepressants are being overprescribed, particularly for non-major depression, due to the false impression created by drug companies. The efficacy of these drugs is debatable and they do not work for everyone with major depression.
Episode#263 – John Abramson: Big Pharma
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Healthcare costs are pulling money from socially beneficial uses which could save a lot more lives than just one.
2:10:24 - 2:22:27 (12:02)
Summary
Healthcare costs are pulling money from socially beneficial uses which could save a lot more lives than just one. Many physicians are feeling burnout due to practicing in a way that they know isn't working, leading to moral injury.
Episode#263 – John Abramson: Big Pharma
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Lex Fridman, a prominent AI researcher, interviews John Abramson on his book, "Sickening," and discusses the issues of Big Pharma and the medical industry.
2:22:27 - 2:23:38 (01:11)
Summary
Lex Fridman, a prominent AI researcher, interviews John Abramson on his book, "Sickening," and discusses the issues of Big Pharma and the medical industry.