ABSTRACT
In 2009, the drug benfluorex (Mediator®) was withdrawn from the French market because of its cardiopulmonary side effects, and its morbidity and mortality assessment. The Mediator® scandal has come to be recognized as the key event that “disembedded” the concept of conflict of interest (COI) and pushed it to the top of the agenda of France's pharmaceutical sector and beyond. In 2011, four administrative and parliamentary inquiry committees examined corporate influence, links and COIs, and illegal influence peddling in the Mediator® scandal. Our aim is to examine the key statement from one of the inquiries, that “this corporation [Servier] has ‘anesthetized’ the actors in the drug chain”. Who were these actors, what precisely was meant by the term “anesthetized”, and how can it be explained that alignments of interest that would today be considered as conflicts were for decades considered perfectly normal? We begin by analyzing the four 2011 investigation reports, before moving on to present a sociological survey of 300 cardiologists conducted between 2012 and 2015 exploring their perception as prescribing actors. Lastly, we argue that administrative reform and the prosecution of perpetrators individualize responsibility and therefore leave little room for a more systemic analysis of the scandal.
