Tag: regulatory capture

Washington, D.C. skyline with highways and monuments.

Psychedelic Lobbying and Regulatory Capture

Vincent Joralemon Leave a comment

By Vincent Joralemon

Psychedelic companies and advocacy groups are spending substantial resources to influence regulatory policy, shaping what the blossoming field will ultimately cohere into.

Although regulations are designed to protect the public interest, the rulemaking process is often dominated by lobbying from those with special interests in the fields meant to be regulated. When that leads to undue influence, the result is known as “regulatory capture.”

Yet, not all lobbying campaigns are necessarily problematic — the goal instead should be for regulators to leverage industry insights while maintaining independence in their ultimate decision-making.

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Hundred dollar bills rolled up in a pill bottle

To Address the Overdose Epidemic, Tackle Pharma Industry Influence

The Petrie-Flom Center Staff Leave a comment

By Liza Vertinsky

A recently released government report estimates that 93,000 people died from drug overdose in 2020. This estimate reflects a jump in the death toll of almost 30% from 2019 to 2020, with opioids as a primary driver.

In response, President Biden has called for historic levels of funding for the treatment and prevention of addiction and drug overdose.

Transforming mental health and addiction services is a critical part of tackling the overdose crisis, but it is not enough, on its own, to address this epidemic, or to prevent a future one. We must also alter the conditions that fueled expanded use, and abuse, in the first place. As I argue in Pharmaceutical (Re)capture, a forthcoming article in the Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law and Ethics, this includes a change in how we regulate markets for prescription drugs.

To truly combat the epidemic, I suggest, we have to understand how pain became such a lucrative business and how regulators failed to protect the public health as the market for prescription opioids grew. Then, we need to put this understanding to work in the redesign of pharmaceutical regulation.

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