[Ip-health] Huffington Post, James Love: Joe Trippi admits he works for BIO, while he plugs BIO bill in Huffpo

[Malini Aisola]

Joe Trippi admits he works for BIO, while he plugs BIO bill in Huffpo
By James Love
July 17, 2009

On Thursday, I wrote a blog for the Huffpo titled "Key Democrats Back
BIO Industry Against Consumers to Delay Generic Medicines
(Biosimilars)." [1] (BIO Stands for the Biotechnology Industry
Association).

One of the key democrats I mentioned was Joe Trippi, who wrote an
article in the Huffpo [2] on July 8, pushing an industry backed bill for
a 12-14.5 year minimum monopoly on biologic medicines. Another was
Howard Dean, who also wrote a pro-industry op ed on July 8, a few days
before key Senate and House votes on the BIO backed measure.

A little more than a hour ago, Trippi posted this administion on his web
page [3]:"I work on behalf of the Biotechnology Industry Organization,"
followed by the lame assertion that "I have never been paid by anyone to
post or blog anything by anyone." Well, what is BIO paying Joe to do?
Plugging the Eshoo/Barton bill [4] is a freebee?

        I know I write out of passion, and, while I have never been paid
        by anyone to post or blog anything by anyone, it doesn't matter.
        I have a responsibility to disclose my professional
        relationships--not only here, but everywhere I post--even though
        my motive is my passion. The fact that anyone was confused by my
        motives is not their fault, it's mine. It's my
        responsibility--not my staff's or anyone else's--to make not
        just my motives clear, but my professional relationships clear.

        From this point forward, no matter how passionate I am about a
        cause or candidate, I will disclose any professional
        relationship. As someone who has watched the online progressive
        community grow, I owe this community an apology. It was my
        mistake that I didn't recognize that outside of this community,
        I haven't made my professional relationships clear and I need to
        - it will never happen again.


To put this into context. Trippi works for BIO. He is plugging the
Eshoo/Barton bill on biosimilars that is opposed by President Obama, the
FTC, Represent Henry Waxman, AARP, Consumers Union, AFL-CIO, Public
Citizen, PIRG, KEI, Essential Action, UAEM, and other groups not on the
industry payroll.

Follow James Love on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jamie_love


[1]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-love/key-democrats-back-bio-in_b_235877.html [2]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-trippi/howard-dean-is-right---le_b_227950.html
[3]http://joetrippi.com/blog/?p=2795
[4]http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.1548:








--
Malini Aisola
Knowledge Ecology International
1621 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 500, Washington DC 20009
malini.aisola@keionline.org|Tel: +1.202.332.2670|Fax: +1.202.332.2673