Blogs

Why we are targeting AstraZeneca
By: Heidi Chow
Date: 26 April 2021
Campaigns: Pharma
For the past year, we have been calling on AstraZeneca and other vaccine makers to drop their patents and share the vaccine technology and know-how with the world. But, a […]
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4 reasons we should be worried about big pharma’s grip over publicly funded Covid-19 vaccines
By: Heidi Chow
Date: 21 July 2020
Campaigns: Pharma
Here are four reasons why we should be worried about big pharma’s grip over this publicly funded vaccine.
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$2,340 for a Covid-19 treatment?
By: Heidi Chow
Date: 30 June 2020
Campaigns: Pharma
Yesterday US pharmaceutical company, Gilead announced that they will charge an extraordinary $2,340 for a five-day treatment course for the drug remdesivir, which is being used as a treatment for Covid-19. The drug has been developed with substantial amounts of public money in the US, with a reported $70.5 million of public investment.
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The race for a coronavirus vaccine proves big pharma isn’t fit for purpose
By: Heidi Chow
Date: 18 March 2020
Campaigns: Pharma
As the spread of coronavirus continues unabated, the response of the pharmaceutical industry is being thrust into the spotlight. For years, major public health crises have exposed the fundamental conflict […]
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Don’t be fooled by the government’s pledge to keep the NHS out of a Trump trade deal, these are just empty words
By: Heidi Chow
Date: 4 March 2020
Campaigns: Trade
The government published its long-awaited negotiating objectives for a US-UK trade deal this week which included categorical statements that the NHS and drug prices are not on the table. But this does not represent a victory for all who want to protect our NHS.
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Big tech companies have too much power. But Trump wants to lock it in
By: Heidi Chow
Date: 4 December 2019
Campaigns: Trade
The leaked trade papers from meetings between the US and UK revealed how a trade deal with the US could be used to create and lock-in new rules for the digital economy. The US government is pushing an agenda to protect big tech companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook from regulation.
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A Trump trade deal could multiply the threat from ‘corporate courts’
By: Heidi Chow
Date: 3 December 2019
Campaigns: Trade
The US has insisted on the most extreme version of corporate courts in US trade talks – just like in TTIP, the EU-US trade deal we stopped in 2016.
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How Trump wants to force the NHS to pay more for medicines
By: Heidi Chow
Date: 2 December 2019
Campaigns: Pharma, Trade
Boris Johnson’s government has been adamant that drug pricing is not on the table for a trade deal with Trump. But the leaked trade papers of their secret meetings with the US exposed that this is simply not true.
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Election 2019: Young people – have you registered to vote?
By: Heidi Chow
Date: 22 November 2019
Campaigns: Youth
The past ten years of government policies have left young people in a dire predicament. Faced with a growing housing crisis, mountains of student debt, a lack of youth services […]
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A toxic trade deal with Trump means a blank cheque for big pharma
By: Heidi Chow
Date: 29 October 2019
Campaigns: Pharma, Trade
Last night, Channel 4’s Dispatches exposed the dangers to the NHS of a trade deal with the US. In spite of the government’s insistence that the NHS is off the table, the documentary revealed that five secret meetings have taken place between senior civil servants and representatives of the US pharmaceutical industry – none of these meetings have been declared claimed the show.
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