WHO vaccine expert had conflict of interest, Danish newspaper claims
Controversy has arisen at the World Health Organization after allegations that some WHO experts, including a leading vaccine adviser, have financial ties to the drug industry.
Documents acquired through the Danish Freedom of Information Act by the Danish daily newspaper Information show that Juhani Eskola, a Finnish vaccines adviser on the WHO board, has received £5.6m (
6.2m; $9m) for his research centre, the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare. The money, from GlaxoSmithKline for research on vaccines during 2009, is the institute’s main source of income.
Professor Eskola is the deputy director general of the institute and a member of WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), which advises member states on which vaccines to use and how much of these they should purchase.
GlaxoSmithKline produces the H1N1 vaccine Pandemrix, which the Finnish government stockpiled after recommendations from Professor Eskola’s institute and WHO.
Read article at http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/340/jan12_2/c201