Powerful US ‘think tank’ in smear campaign against our exporters
27 Sep 2014 1:16 AM GMT
The India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), an arm of Commerce Ministry, has objected to a smear campaign orchestrated by the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI) against the whole Indian pharmaceutical industry. AEI has published the findings of a ‘study’ as a working paper in the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper series.
The study has not been reviewed by any of the authors’ peers as is the gold standard in serious academic publishing. The study cites anecdotal evidence and hearsay, quoted earlier in the author’s other publications, as facts with established academic provenance. Cleverly, the Board of NBER distances itself from the contents of the report; yet parts are being reproduced under NBER’s name to give it credibility which is completely being otherwise.
IBEF noted that the study claims to assess ‘the quality of 1,470 antibiotic and tuberculosis drug samples that claim to be made in India and were sold in Africa, India, and five mid-income non-African countries’ based on samples ‘from pharmacies in 22 cities of 18 low-to mid-income countries between 2009 and 2012.’
‘The conclusions of the study are disputed not only for methodology and ethics but also for the poor treatment of data sampling used,’ it said.
The study has not been reviewed by any of the authors’ peers as is the gold standard in serious academic publishing. The study cites anecdotal evidence and hearsay, quoted earlier in the author’s other publications, as facts with established academic provenance. Cleverly, the Board of NBER distances itself from the contents of the report; yet parts are being reproduced under NBER’s name to give it credibility which is completely being otherwise.
IBEF noted that the study claims to assess ‘the quality of 1,470 antibiotic and tuberculosis drug samples that claim to be made in India and were sold in Africa, India, and five mid-income non-African countries’ based on samples ‘from pharmacies in 22 cities of 18 low-to mid-income countries between 2009 and 2012.’
‘The conclusions of the study are disputed not only for methodology and ethics but also for the poor treatment of data sampling used,’ it said.
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