Mar. 17 BUSPH Public Health Forum: Does Big Pharma Have a Duty to Help Poor Patients?
On Wednesday, March 17, join Kevin Outterson at the BUSPH Public Health Forum as he explores the question, “Do Global Pharmaceutical Companies Have a Duty to Help Impoverished Patients?”
Outterson, an associate professor of law at BU School of Law, will examine the potential ethical responsibilities that drug companies might have to improve global public health. Drug companies control patent rights for many drugs with health implications in low- and medium-income countries. This talk will explore ethical responsibilities in the legal context of global drug patents.
Outterson’s research interests include global pharmaceutical markets, health disparities and corporate governance. He has testified on pharmaceutical marketing issues before legislative and regulatory bodies in several states, and at the federal level he has testified before the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions on global drug pricing.
For more than a decade, Outterson worked in two major US law firms before joining Boston University. His practice included domestic health care transactions, as well as tax and corporate issues for nonprofit health systems and international businesses. He has served as an expert witness in corporate governance issues in state and federal court, defending depositions and testifying at trial. His academic papers can be accessed on the Social Science Research Network .
The BUSPH Public Health Forum is a regular series presented by the School of Public Health. It is free and open to the public.