'Potentially Influential Government Officials' in Canada and China Were Paid Excessively by Pfizer

    Dr. Byram W. Bridle, 02/10/26

When I read the article, I found two details in the story to be particularly disconcerting.

First, I learned a new term. Apparently there are “potentially influential government officials (PIGOs)” that pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer target monetarily. This term bothers me and the purpose of the payouts seems to be at odds with conflict of interest policies that are supposed to be enforced in countries like Canada.

Second, alongside China, Pfizer targeted Canada’s PIGOs through a disproportionately large budget. The story focused on the fact that Pfizer may have committed fraud by targeting potentially influential government officials in China with a disproportionately large sum of money (“over ten times the amount of money”) compared to what was paid out to government officials in the United States. However, as a Canadian, I found the following facts to be of concern:

US Senator Marco Rubio, Colleagues, Question Pfizer's Position on Medically Assisted Suicide

Press Release 02/28/24 

A recent report exposed Pfizer’s financial assistance to Dying with Dignity Canada (DWDC), raising questions about its stance on assisted suicide. DWDC has pushed to expand the eligibility for “medically assisted death” to children as young as 12 years old. Pfizer’s support for DWDC raises concerns that it is complicit in prematurely ending lives. 

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and colleagues sent a letter to Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla regarding Pfizer’s donations to DWDC, and the company’s stance on “medically assisted death.”