Deadly Medicines and Organised Crime: How Big Pharma Has Corrupted Healthcare

Peter C. Gøtzsche, co-founder of the Cochrane Collaboration, presents evidence of systemic corruption in the pharmaceutical industry. The book draws on his decades of experience as a medical researcher and industry observer to document questionable practices by major drug companies. Through extensive research and documentation, Gøtzsche demonstrates parallels between the business tactics of pharmaceutical companies and organized crime operations. He examines clinical trials, marketing strategies, and relationships between drug companies and healthcare providers. The book analyzes specific cases involving major pharmaceutical corporations and their influence on drug approval processes and medical research. Gøtzsche includes first-hand accounts from his career and interactions with industry representatives. This work challenges conventional views of the pharmaceutical industry and raises fundamental questions about the current state of healthcare systems. The author's analysis points to the need for reform in how medicines are developed, tested, and brought to market.

Readers praise Gøtzsche's detailed research and extensive documentation of pharmaceutical industry practices. Many note the book provides specific examples and evidence rather than just general criticism. Multiple reviewers highlight the author's insider perspective as co-founder of the Cochrane Collaboration. Positive reviews focus on: - Clear explanations of how drug trials can be manipulated - Documentation of illegal marketing practices - Analysis of regulatory agency failures Common criticisms: - Repetitive writing style - Overly aggressive tone - Some claims lack sufficient evidence - Too focused on criticizing without proposing solutions Ratings: Goodreads: 4.26/5 (448 ratings) Amazon: 4.6/5 (384 ratings) "Eye-opening but needs better editing" notes one Amazon reviewer. Several Goodreads readers mention the book feels "more like a collection of research papers than a cohesive narrative." Multiple reviewers across platforms describe it as "important but difficult to read straight through."

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🔹 Author Peter C. Gøtzsche co-founded the Cochrane Collaboration in 1993, an international organization dedicated to conducting systematic reviews of healthcare interventions, before being controversially expelled in 2018. 🔹 The book won the British Medical Association's First Prize for the Best Book in the Category of Basis of Medicine in 2014. 🔹 Gøtzsche compares the pharmaceutical industry's business tactics to those of organized crime, noting that both groups employ bribery, fraud, and corruption to achieve their goals. 🔹 The author reveals that prescription drugs are the third leading cause of death in Europe and the United States, after heart disease and cancer. 🔹 The book demonstrates how pharmaceutical companies sometimes deliberately hide negative clinical trial results, with one study showing that 94% of published trials showed positive results while only 51% of all conducted trials were actually positive.