The Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences (CSPS) is an NGO devoted to advancing drug research in Canada. It also states it wants to be “involved with the [political] decision making process. The Canadian Pharmaceutical Sciences Foundation (CPFS) appears to be the fundraising arm of the CSPS. The Foundation is a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency.
The CPFS was received its status as a charity in 2018. From that point on, any donations made would be eligible for taxpayer funded rebates of around 50%.
As pointed out in the previous article, there is a reason public health groups are often set up as charities. It makes private interest groups more likely to donate, since the taxpayers end up subsidizing a good chunk of these contributions.
According to its website, the The specific goals of the CSPS are:
- To advocate excellence in pharmaceutical research
- To promote allocation of funds for pharmaceutical research
- To be involved in decision and policy making processes at the government level
On the surface, this doesn’t seem so bad. But this is where things get sticky: the big donors to the CSPS are pharmaceutical companies. In other words, the organization calling for (a) better pharma research; (b) more funding for research; and (c) being involved with the policy decisions gets money from drug makers.
Doesn’t this come across as a bit of a conflict of interest?
LATINUM SPONSORS
- Roche
- University of Alberta
GOLD SPONSORS
- Abbvie
- AstraZeneca
- Boehringer Ingelheim
- Gilead
- Janssen
- Innovative Medicines Canada
- Merck
- Pendant Biosciences
SILVER SPONSORS
- Waters
BRONZE SPONSORS
- Advanced Polymer Materials
- Aphria
- Avicanna
- Bayer
- CDRD
- CJPP
- Dalhousie U
- Dynacare
- IMV
- IPAC
- Pfizer
- Precision Rx-Dx
- London HSC
- Children’s Hospital
- Northernchem
- Panag
- SickKids
- Schulich Medicine & Dentistry, Western U
- University of Toronto Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
- U of Toronto Physiology & Pharmacology
A/V SPONSOR
- PSAV
Taking a look at their 2018 conference newsletter, it’s revealed that major drug companies (including household names) are top sponsors. Pharma research is being promoted and funded … by the very companies who stand to profit from the sales of those products. Remember, CSPS wants to be involved in the decision making process.
As for their 2017 conference sponsors, well, you probably get the idea by now. It’s funded by interested parties.
The CSPS offers an undergraduate award to all pharmacy schools in Canada. There is also a GSK early career award. The University of Alberta also offers a “poster award” for the most innovative poster presentation, based on scientific discovery.
Do as you will, but understand where pharma research money is really coming from. A lot of it is from drug companies, getting tax breaks on the backs of the public.
(1) https://www.cspscanada.org/
(2) https://www.cspscanada.org/canadian-pharmaceutical-sciences-foundation-2/
(3) https://www.cspscanada.org/about-csps/mission-vision/
(4) https://www.cspscanada.org/symposium-events/awards/research-program-awards/
(5) https://www.cspscanada.org/symposium-events/awards/csps-awards/early-career-award/
(6) https://www.cspscanada.org/symposium-events/awards/poster-awards/
(7) https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/hacc/srch/pub/chrt
(8) https://www.cspscanada.org/?s=sponsors
(9) CSPS Conference Sponsors 2012
(10) CSPS Conference Sponsors 2014
(11) CSPS Conference Sponsors 2015
(12) CSPS Conference Sponsors 2016
(13) CSPS Conference Sponsors 2017
(14) CSPS Newsletter 2016 Fall Edition
(15) CSPS Newsletter 2017 Fall Edition
(16) CSPS Newsletter 2018 Fall Edition