MAGICAL MEDICINE: HOW TO MAKE AN ILLNESS ... - Invest in ME

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However, Professors White, Sharpe and Chalder seem to have had a change of mind and they then did
declare and list serious conflicts of interest in relation to exactly the same material issues in the MRC
PACE Protocol:
ʺPDW has done voluntary and paid consultancy work for the Departments of Health and Work and Pensions and legal
companies and a re‐insurance company. MCS has done voluntary and paid consultancy work for government and for
legal and insurance companies. TC has done consultancy work for insurance companies, is the author of Coping with
Chronic Fatigue published by Sheldon Press and co‐authors Overcoming Chronic Fatigue with Mary Burgess
published by Constable and Robinson.ʺ (http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471‐2377/7/6 ).
Thus there is conflicting information provided by the Principal Investigators; is this the high standard of
integrity required in an MRC clinical trial?
A search of PubMed for Professor White’s own declarations of interest just for the years 2004 to 2009 reveals
that in many of the papers, he did not declare any competing interests at all, despite clear warnings from the
journals that “Authors are responsible for recognising and disclosing financial and other conflicts of interest that
might bias their work…authors must disclose any commercial associations that might impose a conflict of
interest in connection with the study” (Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, in which Peter White published
an article on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in 2008:40(10):882‐885).
Given the long‐time involvement of so many people involved in the PACE Trial (especially the Principal
Investigators and Professor Wessely) with the medical and permanent health insurance industry and with
Government agencies whose intention is understood to be to target people with ME/CFS in order to remove
them from benefits, there is legitimate concern that such conflicts of interest will direct the outcome of the
trial.
The Gibson Report of 2006 expressed concern about these competing financial interests at page 31, section
6.3:
“At present, ME/CFS is defined as a psychosocial illness by the medical insurance companies. We recognise
that if ME/CFS remains defined as psychosocial then it would be in the financial interests of the medical
insurance companies.
“There have been numerous cases where advisors to the DWP have also had consultancy roles in medical
insurance companies, particularly the company UNUMProvident.
“Given the vested interest private medical insurance companies have in ensuring CFS/ME remains classified
as psychosocial illness, there is blatant conflict of interest here.
“This Group finds this to be an area for serious concern and recommends a full investigation by the
appropriate standard body” (http://erythos.com/gibsonenquiry/Docs/ME_Inquiry_Report.pdf ).
Those parliamentarians who expressed this concern included the former Chairman of a House of Commons
Science and Technology Select Committee and former Dean of Biology; a member of the Home Affairs Select
Committee; a Minister of State for the Environment; a former President of the Royal College of Physicians;
the Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords, and a former Health Minister and Honorary Fellow of the Royal
College of Physicians.
To date, nothing whatever has been instituted to remedy this unacceptable situation.