Swine flu and big pharma: the truth

An investigation by the British Medical Journal and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism finds that a trio of scientists who drew up the key World Health Organisation guidelines had previously received payment for other work from Roche - which makes Tamiflu - and Relenza manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline.

The report estimates that the cash-hungry drugs giants banked more than £4.8 billion as a result of the WHO recommendations.

These recommendations led to governments stockpiling vaccines and anti-virals even though the predicted pandemic never arrived.

Poland was among the few countries that refused to listen to the recommendations.

In contrast Britain spent around £1bn stockpiling vaccines and warned that 65,000 people could die - but it is now left trying to scrap expensive drug contracts that it has been tied into.

The specific guidance on antivirals was written by Professor Fred Hayden, who confirmed in an email that he was being paid by Roche for lectures and consultancy work at the time the guidance was produced and published.

He has also been paid by GSK for consultancy and lecturing until 2002.

Dr Arnold Monto was the author of the WHO annex dealing with vaccine usage in pandemics and had openly declared consultancy fees and research support from Roche and GSK.

Third scientist Professor Karl Nicholson, who is credited with the WHO's influential work Pandemic Influenza, had received sponsorship from GSK and Roche.

Campaign group Health Emergency spokesman John Lister said: "What started out as a relatively mild form of flu has caused global panic.

"It is a bizarre coincidence that the pharmaceutical companies are the ones to benefit."

Mr Lister points out that "in Britain more than half the scientists on the swine-flu taskforce advising the government have been shown to have ties to drug companies, which have made huge sums from the pandemic."

The Council of Europe has produced a damning report into the swine-flu affair, claiming that a lack of openness around decision making has made planning for pandemics almost impossible.

Labour MP for Newport West Paul Flynn, who sits on the council's health committee said: "The tentacles of drug company influence are in all levels in the decision-making process.

"It must be right that the WHO is transparent because there has been distortion of priorities of public health services all over Europe, waste of huge sums of public money and provocation of unjustified fear."