This brings us to the first question, being: What is the narrative behind the formation of the Pfizer corporation? Well, Pfizer was established as Charles Pfizer & Company in 1849 in Brooklyn, New York, by cousins Charles Pfizer and Charles F. Erhart, both of whom had emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1848. Pfizer was a chemist, and his cousin Charles Erhart was a confectioner, and the two began the company financed with a $2,500 loan from one of their fathers. The company focused on the manufacture of chemical compounds and found its first success with the development of an antiparasitic known as santonin, which was used to treat intestinal worms – which was a common complaint at the time. Erhart, using his confectionary skills, added almond-toffee flavouring to the medicine, to make it more palatable.

Following their work, Pfizer also took advantage of the growing needs during the American Civil war. Demand for painkillers, preservatives and disinfectants soared during the US Civil War (which took place in 1861-65), thus leading to one of Pfizer’s first big profit making ventures. The company expanded production to help meet the needs of the Union Army. Soldiers carried tartaric acid, developed by Pfizer, in their battlefield kits, and used it to treat wounds. And the drugs manufactured included iodine, morphine and chloroform, which, in addition to medicinal applications, were also used in the emerging field of photography. Pfizer’s revenues doubled by 1868.

Shortly afterward, the company saw its fortunes climb further with the production of citric acid, which had numerous industrial uses. More specifically, in the late 1800s, Pfizer began manufacturing citric acid just as drinks such as Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper and Pepsi-Cola – which all used citric acid as an ingredient – started to become popular. Citric acid soon became Pfizer’s main product and the launch pad for its growth in the decades to follow. During this time, Charles Erhart died in 1891, and the eponymous Pfizer gained full control of the burgeoning firm, which would remain privately held until 1942 – when 240,000 shares were offered to the public. Nevertheless, the company continued to grow, and in 1881 transferred its administrative headquarters to Manhattan, followed by additional expansion into other regions of the United States. By 1906, Pfizer’s annual sales topped $3 million.

Subsequently, when World War I resulted in a global shortage of calcium citrate—necessary for the production of citric acid—Pfizer was forced to seek an alternative. The solution was found in a fungus that created citric acid through the fermentation of sugar, and Pfizer began production of citric acid through this process in 1919. During World War II, the technology developed for the production of citric acid through sugar fermentation would also be used in the mass production of the antibiotic drug penicillin. In fact, Pfizer was the first company to discover a way to mass-produce the antibiotic drug penicillin – following its discovery by British scientist Alexander Fleming in 1928. And then heeding a plea from the US government, Pfizer began supplying penicillin to Allied forces in World War Two.

Then, in the 1900s and early 2000s, Pfizer launched anti-erectile dysfunction drug Viagra in 1998. Hailed as a “miracle drug”, Viagra has been a reliable source of income for 15 years, with sales in the US alone in 2012 of $2bn. In the 21st Century, Pfizer acquired many other pharmaceutical companies, including Warner-Lambert in 2000 for $110bn, followed by Pharmacia in 2003 and Wyeth in 2009, external. However, while these developments were taking place, Pfizer developed a propensity towards corrupt dealings – especially in undermining the regulatory functions of the FDA, all while harming lives and attempting to conceal the information.

FELDENE: PFIZER’S BEST-SELLING DEADLY DRUG

And now onto our second question, being: How does the feldene drug uniquely expose Pfizer’s propensity to place profit over people? So, Feldene is the most widely sold nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drug in the world. It is marketed in 106 countries to more than 20 million people. It is the most lucrative product sold by the Pfizer Corporation. And, according to critics, it also kills people. Since Feldene was introduced in the U.S. in 1982, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received a total of 2,621 non-fatal and 182. fatal adverse reaction reports associated with the drug’s use.

These figures, based on a November 1985 FDA printout, may greatly underestimate the total number of adverse reactions to Feldene. Dr Sidney Wolfe, director of the Public Citizen Health Research Group in Washington, said “At least 1.75 million elderly. American people now receiving this drug are at risk of developing life-threatening gastrointestinal reactions.” He has petitioned the FDA to ban “as an imminent hazard to the public health” the use of Feldene in patients aged 60 and over. The National Council of Senior Citizens has urged the FDA to take the drug completely off the market.

Feldene can cause stomach and intestinal bleeding, ulcers, intestinal perforation, hematemesis (vomiting of blood), and melena (blood in stools). It also can cause congestive heart failure and reactions such as burning, itching, redness, and small swellings on the skin after brief exposure to light.

This is important to note because Feldene is part of a series of drug scandals in which giant pharmaceutical companies, as a matter of corporate policy, place profits before human life. But Feldene also represents a case study in how the FDA fails to perform its regulatory function. First the FDA bent the rules to allow Pfizer to market its product and then it took no action after the company repeatedly violated the law. Meanwhile, Pfizer originally submitted a new-drug application for Feldene to the FDA in March 1978 and again in May 1980. Both times the applications were rejected because Pfizer had not conducted the necessary tests. In September 1981, Pfizer resubmitted its application but it did not perform any new tests; it simply reanalyzed old data.

Then, while the FDA was still considering the application, Pfizer sponsored a reception at the meeting of the American Rheumatism Association in Boston and showed a film promoting Feldene which the FDA said was illegal. Nevertheless, on April 6, 1982, the FDA approved Feldene for use in the U.S. And even while the FDA was deliberating on Pfizer’s application, Feldene users were already dying in Europe. The FDA did not learn of Feldene’s record in Europe until after it was approved. About six months after approval, Pfizer submitted 26 adverse drug reports from Britain; the reports showed that Pfizer may have held onto them as long as two and a half years. And between July and November 1983, Pfizer reported almost two dozen patient deaths in Europe. Aware of the potential impact of adverse publicity, Pfizer attempted to censor articles considered for publication in medical journals in Europe. But, here’s more on feldene – and you would note the various challenges it poses where the side effects are detailed.

HAS PFIZER LEARNT  FROM ITS HISTORY OF CORRUPTION AND MISLEADING STUDIES?

In our final question, we then ought to address the question of whether Pfizer learnt from its history of corruption and misleading studies? And here we must consider all that we detailed about Pfizer diabolical dealings and what we see in the status quo, and even recent history. Well, it should surprise no one that Pfizer did NOT gain constructive lessons from this history.

Well, in a now famous case study, it emerged that in the development of the poisonous COVID-19 vaccine, for researchers who were testing Pfizer’s vaccine at several sites in Texas, speed may have come at the cost of data integrity and patient safety. More specifically, a regional director who was employed at the research organisation Ventavia Research Group has exposed the fact that the company falsified data, unblinded patients, employed inadequately trained vaccinators, and was slow to follow up on adverse events reported in Pfizer’s pivotal phase III trial. Staff who conducted quality control checks were overwhelmed by the volume of problems that they were finding.

Then, after repeatedly notifying Ventavia of these problems, the regional director, named Brook Jackson, proceeded to email a complaint to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The outcome, unfortunately, was the protection of Pfizer and a backlash against her – for doing the right thing.

We began this discussion by stating that we are proceeding to take a deep dive into learning how pharmaceutical companies ended up in a position of influence in health policy, despite the harms their products have caused. Evidently, it is because the pharmaceutical companies falsified or concealed information, while corrupting the very institutions that are supposed to hold them accountable – something that we see in the history of the Pfizer company.

Written By Lindokuhle Mabaso