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Patient groups and biomedicine: for better and for worse

Nature Medicine volume 26, pages 1500–1503 (2020)Cite this article

In recent years, patient research groups have spurred culture shifts in biomedical research and governance, with many health experts lauding the benefit of these groups’ being embedded in the research process. Some, however, question private-sector influence in these groups’ newfound power.

For a long time, patient- and community-led research groups were on the periphery and struggled to attract the attention of research institutes and biopharmaceutical companies. However, their proliferation in recent years, coupled with the mushrooming of multi-stakeholder collaborative umbrella groupings, has helped usher in a patient-centered approach and culture, from research boards of pharmaceutical companies to drug-regulatory agencies and global bodies.

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  1. Freelance journalist, Geneva, Switzerland

    John Zarocostas

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  1. John Zarocostas
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Zarocostas, J. Patient groups and biomedicine: for better and for worse. Nat Med 26, 1500–1503 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-1099-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-1099-6

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