Less than a year ago, in late 2019, the pharmaceutical industry came in dead last in a favorability contest with twenty-five other industries. According to that Gallup Poll, only a little more than a quarter of the population (27 percent) thinks of the pharmaceutical industry in positive terms. The industry’s popularity was at its lowest point in the 19 years that Gallup had been measuring it. Now, however, in the midst of the massive disruption of the coronavirus pandemic, the industry’s fortunes in public opinion could be turning around. Based on polling last month by APCO Worldwide, about half (48 percent) of the population had not changed their views on big pharma, but among the other half, respondents were twice as likely to report a positive change. This is consistent with a Harris Poll showing 39 percent of Americans have improved their view of the pharmaceutical industry in the midst of this pandemic.

At this stage, the shift of opinion is more likely to reflect hope for the future more than appreciation for the industry’s past works. People may be primed to support the pharmaceutical industry because they see it as the way out of all of this. Once litigation restarts, themes of profiteering and callousness will still come to the fore in cases against drug companies. But, for awhile at least, that negativity is likely to be tempered by a fresh realization of just how much we are counting on these same companies. In this post, I will consider three themes behind this recent change of heart on pharmaceutical companies.

Dependence and Social Value 

When you’re attacking or defending a company in court, it is always a good idea to consider what that company means to society. Jurors will focus on the claims and defenses, as the law expects them to, but that picture will be painted on the canvas of their pre-existing attitudes toward the company and the industry. In the APCO survey mentioned above, the researchers note that companies in the pharmaceutical industry are benefitting from “the steady stream of hopeful, good news in the midst of a crisis for an industry that has been under the gun from both sides of the aisle.” In that survey, fully  68 percent reported being optimistic that a coronavirus treatment will be developed. Because that optimism is inconsistent with a negative view of pharmaceutical companies, that view has become more positive, generally.

Suspicion and Conspiracy

Of course, views on pharmaceutical companies could change depending on what the end-game for this pandemic looks like. If no vaccine is forthcoming, that will sow fresh doubt about the industry. And in the present polarized and politicized atmosphere, any vaccine that comes out is likely to be seen as a plot by some. The proportion of conspiracy thinkers is becoming alarmingly large. According to a recent article in Biospace, a number of polls show distrust of the industry, with almost half of Americans believing the coronavirus was created in a lab and almost one-third believing that cures for the disease exist but are being withheld.

Greed

The dominant image of the industry, and the reason that it had been on a downward trend prior to the coronavirus pandemic, is based on perceived profiteering. The narrative is that the industry charges extreme prices because it can, and that it uses the health and lives of its customers as leverage. That narrative could be magnified in the event that the industry produces expensive or unequal access to a vaccine and to testing. The criticism of testing, so far, has fallen most heavily on government rather than industry, but that could change as industry starts to play a more visible role in developing new treatments and a vaccine. Importantly, as leaders around the globe pledged to share research on treatments and medication for the virus, the United States did not participate in that statement. In that context, American pharmaceuticals could end up looking not just greedy, but isolated as well.

So, even as public opinion is moving in these unprecedented times, the situation remains very fluid. When we do return to courtrooms to try cases involving pharmaceutical companies, it will be extremely important to assess public perceptions and attitudes at the moment and in the venue.

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