Prestigious Universities and Pharma

The Harvard brand, unrivaled in education, is also prized by the pharmaceutical industry as a powerful tool in promoting drugs. Its allure is evident in a new analysis of all publicly reported industry payments to physicians. … Companies value the cachet that comes with the name of a prestigious institution,’’ said Dr. Paul Appelbaum, director of the Division of Law, Ethics and Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. “Even though the institutions themselves are not in any way endorsing the presentations, the aura carries over.’’