Dutch researchers hid ties to weight-loss drug maker while advocating obesity measures

In May, eight health economists presented a manifesto to Vincent Karremans calling for stronger national measures against obesity, including earlier treatment for overweight people. Three of the eight failed to disclose in the document that, alongside their positions at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), they also work for Health-Ecore, a consultancy that performs economic analyses for the American pharmaceutical company Lilly, according to an investigation by Zembla. The company is currently seeking to have its weight-loss drug reimbursed under the Dutch healthcare system.

“That is a violation of the code of scientific integrity,” said Lex Bouter, emeritus professor of methodology and integrity at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The UMCG acknowledged that a conflict of interest occurred.

The economists’ manifesto cited a study by Maastricht University and the Partnership Overweight Netherlands (PON), claiming obesity costs Dutch society 79 billion euros annually. But Jochen Mierau, a professor of health economics, called the figure “a major overestimation.” He said the Maastricht study failed to compare healthcare costs and absenteeism between people with and without obesity. “Because those two amounts were not subtracted from each other, it wrongly created the impression that the costs are 79 billion euros,” Mierau told Zembla. International research, he said, suggests the true cost for the Netherlands is no more than 25 billion euros.

Karen Freijer, one of the study’s authors and general manager of PON, admitted the 79 billion euro figure was “broadly estimated.” She said the study was meant as “a wake-up call.” “The exact amount is less relevant than the message it conveys,” Freijer told Zembla.

In a written statement to Zembla, UMCG said it agreed that its code of conduct had not been followed.
“The UMCG believes that the collaboration between Health-Ecore and Lilly indeed created a conflict of interest when signing this manifesto,” the hospital said. “According to our code, researchers must always be transparent about side positions and potential conflicts of interest in any public statement.”

The economists involved acknowledged that their work for Lilly should have been disclosed in the manifesto but insisted their ties did not influence its content.

Lilly revealed this week that it is investing 3 billion dollars, approximately 2.6 billion euros, to build a new factory in Katwijk. Lilly expects the project to create 500 permanent manufacturing jobs and about 1,500 construction jobs.