Peter Gøtzsche’s latest book ‘Deadly Medicines and Organised Crime: How Big Pharma has Corrupted Healthcare’ wins first prize in BMA book awards 2014

‘I would say that this book should be compulsory reading for medical students and junior doctors to make them aware of these issues…

The author’s long experience in the field leads to a clear and authoritative view on the failings of the pharmaceutical industry. However he is clear that doctors, their organisations, journals and policy makers also have a role in these failings. I was particularly interested in the entanglement between doctors and the pharmaceutical industry. The use of clear language – fraud, corruption, and criminality – helps show what we would call this behaviour in any other sphere of life. It also refocuses our minds on the impact this behaviour has on patients – medication being the third largest cause of death…

Prior to reading this I felt I had a good understanding of many of the issues – however this book highlighted many issues which I was not aware of. Some of the industry documents which have been leaked or revealed in court cases are particularly eye-opening…