On Wednesday 15th January at 12.15, Professor John Abraham from King's College is coming to talk about politics and medicines (details below - food & drink provided). He has immense experience in this field and it promises to be a very interesting talk – and an excellent introduction to the issue of drug regulation for students on the Public Health, International Law and Governance module, ahead of the lecture on Monday 20th (Topic 3) to be given by Peter Arlett, Head of Pharmacovigilance and Risk Management at the European Medicines Agency.
Centre for Primary Care and Public Health Seminar
Wednesday 15 January, 12:15-13:15
Michael Mason Lecture Theatre, Yvonne Carter Building
John Abraham
Professor of Sociology, Department of Social Science, Health and Medicine, King's College London
'How Politics changes Pharmaceutical Medicine: Ideology, Regulatory Standards and Drug Evaluation'
Macro-political debates and change are often regarded as disconnected from the apparently mundane details of how medicines are tested and evaluated by scientists in industry and regulatory agencies. In this talk I will show how major ideological convictions about the relationship between the executive arms of government, the state bureaucracy, industry interests and representations of innovation alter what counts as scientific evidence in assessing the therapeutic value of medicines.
