[Ip-health] Howard Dean Claims He Is "Actually Not a Shill For the BIO." Then Stop Acting Like One

[Malini Aisola]

On Wednesday, Howard Dean appeared at a Center for American Progress
(CAP) event to discuss health care reform. At one point, the moderator
said:

"I was just reading the other day an article in the Huffington Post.
They, um, they call you a "shill for the biotech industry." Any comments
on that?"

This was a reference to "Howard Dean -- Now a Shill for BIO," which
shared details of a BioCentury report on Howard Dean's lobbying to block
generic biologic medicines on behalf of the Biotechnology Industry
Association (BIO), as well as the reactions from seven consumer
advocates.

In a rambling 3:15 minute response to the question, Dr. Dean claimed to
be an expert on the legislation, on a topic which his "soul was with"
for "a long time." Dean acknowledged, "I work for a law firm part-time
that got paid" on the issue, almost making it sound as if he was not
directly paid to write an op-ed on the issue and talk directly to
members of Congress. (He was).

See the transcript of his response here.

I have always liked Howard Dean. I supported his candidacy in 2004, I
thought he did a great job as head of the Democratic National Committee
(DNC), and I was sorely disappointed he was not tapped as head of HHS by
President Obama. He is a good salesman for health care reform. But none
of that excuses what he is doing now.

Dean understands next to nothing about the legislation he is pushing. In
the transcript, he talks as if this is a debate over the length of
patent protection, and makes it sound as if he was defending a 14 year
patent term against some brain dead members of Congress that wanted a
zero year term for patents.

Patents are already 20 years (or longer) in the United States (and every
country* that is a member of the WTO). The debate is about something
completely different -- a non-patent regulatory monopoly that is both
independent of and broader than patent protection. Pharmaceutical drugs
now get five years of this special regulatory monopoly protection before
generic drugs can be introduced in the market. PhRMA and BIO are seeking
a special 14 years before a generic biologic medicine can rely upon
evidence that the medicine is safe and effective. The Obama
administration, the FTC, Representative Waxman, the AARP, the ALF-CIO,
Consumers Union, Public Citizen, Essential Action, KEI, UAEM, and many
other groups are trying to keep the term of the regulatory monopoly at
five years -- the same as for other medicines.

As reported in detail in the BioCentury report, Howard Dean was brought
in by BIO to get Democrat votes:

[snip]
In his e-mail to board members, (BIO President & CEO) Greenwood did not
fail to include Dean in his praise. "Our team at BIO, the D.C. offices
of our members, our consultants (now including former Vermont Governor
and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean) did a
magnificent job," he wrote. "Governor Dean was very helpful to us" as
BIO scrambled to respond to the Kennedy amendment, he told BioCentury.
"As a physician clearly focused on healthcare, a Democrat leader and
clearly to left of center, his efforts were impactful."
[snip]

It's not enough that he's Howard Dean, or a doctor, to say he's not a
shill for BIO.

Dean is a shill for BIO because he takes BIO's money, repeats BIO's
public relations talking points, uncritically, and understands next to
nothing about the bill itself or the preferred alternatives. He is
selling his credibility to BIO, and I'm assuming he is paid a lot.

Dean is not candid about his role.

      * He failed to disclose his financial relationship to BIO when he
wrote an op-ed about the biosimilars legislation.
      * He didn't acknowledge he was personally paid when he responded
to the questions by students at CAP. ("I work for a law firm part-time
that got paid")
      * He makes it sound as if he has had a long term interest in the
issue before he was hired by BIO.

The legislation is not some yes or no vote on innovation or intellectual
property protection, it is a hard fought battle over the number of years
of extra monopoly protection that will be given to sellers of biologic
medicines, beyond what they get under existing patent laws, or under
other federal subsidies and protections, such as the Orphan Drug Act
(which gives a seven year minimum monopoly for new products). It is also
a battle over what safeguards will exist when medicines are priced too
high. Dean is taking the money, being evasive about the fact he is on
the payroll, and then giving an inaccurate and unbalanced account of the
policy options.


For more background see the following links:

http://www.keionline.org/blogs/2009/07/16/reject-hr1548/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-love/key-democrats-back-bio-in_b_235877.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-love/joe-trippi-admits-he-work_b_238289.html
http://www.keionline.org/blogs/2009/07/20/howard-dean-as-a-shill-for-bio-on-biosimilars-bill/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-love/howard-dean----now-a-shil_b_241465.html

*Except those defined by the UN as a Least Developed Country (LDC).


--
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