"Based upon reporting in the New York Times," Grassley said, "I have come to understand that money from the pharmaceutical industry shapes the practices of non-profit organizations which purport to be independent in their viewpoints and actions."
"Specifically, it is alleged that pharmaceutical companies give money to non-profits in an attempt to garner favor in ways that increase sales of their products," he explained.
The disclosures provided to Grassley revealed that the National NAMI group receives nearly two-thirds of its funding from the pharmaceutical industry. Between 2006 and 2008, drug companies, and their foundations, gave the group almost $23 million.
After receiving Grassley's letter, NAMI's executive director sent out an email to many NAMI supporters and stated in part: "NAMI does not engage in product promotion, endorsement, licensure or certification of any product, service or program owned by a corporate sponsor."
However, Philip Dawdy pointed out the falsity of that claim on his Furious Seasons website. "Fitzpatrick has certainly engaged in product pimpery for J&J/Janssen," he wrote in his daily blog. To substantiate the "pimpery" charge, Dawdy provided a link to a blog he wrote on December 21, 2006, in response to a J&J press release put out to promote its Risperdal's me-too drug, Invega, with Fitzpatrick praising the drug using his official title of "Executive Director, National Alliance on Mental Illness."
"New and efficacious treatment options, like INVEGA, provide significant opportunities for more people with schizophrenia to manage their disease as they work with their treatment teams to live more fulfilling and productive lives," Fitzpatrick stated in the press release.
In her book, Side Effects, Alison Bass tells a story of how James McNulty, NAMI president from 2002 to 2004, failed to disclose that he was being paid thousands of dollars by drug companies to promote their products to NAMI members, and others, at speaking engagements. "In a particularly intriguing twist," she notes on her website, "McNulty laundered this drug company money through a state chapter of NAMI." Bass further explains how the scheme worked for funneling the cash to McNulty:
"He would be paid thousands of dollars to speak about the benefits of various antidepressants -- McNulty himself suffered from depression -- and rather than pay him directly, companies such as Eli Lilly, the maker of Prozac, Pfizer, the maker of Zoloft, and GlaxoSmithKline, which made Paxil, would give his speaking fees to the Rhode Island chapter of NAMI, which would then cut McNulty a check."
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