Taming the BIG PHARMA MONSTER by Speaking Truth to Power

https://politicsthisweek.gn.apc.org/2025/04/not-the-bcfm-politics-show-presented-by-tony-gosling-234/

With Informative Snippets Taken from the Book - Hedley Rees Mar 18, 2025

https://hedleyrees.substack.com/p/taming-the-big-pharma-monster-by-378

DISRUPTING THE PHARMA INDUSTRY? DO ME A FAVOUR…

PLEASE SUSPEND JUDGEMENT UNTIL YOU’VE HEARD OUR CASE

This is the title of Chapter 1 of the book. I had anticipated the incredulity and pushback from potential readers, with such a title as Taming the BIG PHARMA MONSTER. Who ever was going to believe that?

When I wrote the book, it was through 2019, when people didn’t then quite see the need for disruption of the Big Pharma Business model. I’m hoping people do now, some six years later.

A Bit About the Book

Chapter 1 begins:

“There aren’t too many people willing to countenance the potential disruption of the pharma industry. In fact, there is probably no-one who would give houseroom to the notion – but it’s possible. If this book achieves nothing other than convincing you of that, then we have a result on our hands.

So, give your brain a quick swill, wash out your pre-conceived ideas, and sit back for a fascinating few hours.”

Published 28th May 2019

In the section ‘SEPARATING FACT FROM FICTION’, I make this observation:

“After reading this book, you will be able to separate fact from the various fictional accounts of what is going on in the industry. Pharmaceutical companies and their trade associations put forward their view of the world, as do various media outlets and professional communications agencies. The level of interest in the truth varies greatly, but one thing is certain – it is almost impossible to gain an objective view of the rights and wrongs of all that is going on. This book will correct that.

We will therefore be hard on facts and evidence. We will put blame aside to focus on a positive view of the future, although much of it will make you wonder how it ever got into this mess.”

So, do you ever wonder how it got into this mess?

The following six chapters document how focusing on patented molecules, rather than patient wellbeing, led to four decades of a ‘race to the bottom’, AKA a mess.

What Is the Race to the Bottom?

Fundamentally, a race to the bottom is when incentives and other reward mechanisms in a socio-technical system or systems (eg organisation(s)) results in members of the system(s) seeking short term rewards, rather than pursuing the longer-term stated objectives of the company organisation, such as quality standards in manufacture.

Then we turn to Chapter 8:

CHAPTER 8 IT’S THE SYSTEM WOT DONE IT, YOUR HONOUR

In this Chapter, we look toward giants in the world of running successful organisations, such as Steve Jobs, when he built Apple (such a sad loss to the world).

Below is an extract from the book - I managed to jot down his musing in a video interview:

“These are the keys to Apple.

We are an incredibly collaborative company.

Do you know how many committees we have at Apple? – Zero

We are organised like a start-up.

1 person in charge of iPhone OS software.

1 person in charge of MAC hardware.

1 person in charge of iPhone hardware engineering

1 person in charge of w/w marketing.

1 person in charge of operations.

We are the biggest start-up on the planet.

And we all meet for 3 hours once a week and we talk about everything we are doing, the whole business.

And there’s tremendous teamwork at the top of the company which filters down to tremendous teamwork throughout the company.

And teamwork is dependent on trusting the other folks to come through with their part without watching them all the time. Trusting that they are going to come through with their part – and that’s what we do really well, and we are great at figuring out how to divide things up into these great teams that we have. We all work on the same things and touch bases frequently and bring it all together into a product.

We do that really well and so what I do all day is meet with teams of people.

And work on ideas and solve problems to make new products and make new marketing programmes. Whatever it is…”

Spot on, Steve. Armed with those principles it is no coincidence that Steve Jobs achieved what he did.”