Drug development pipeline sometimes involves intersection of influence, research and profits

The Washington Post: As Drug Industry's Influence Over Research Grows, So Does The Potential For Bias
[S]ince about the mid-1980s, research funding by pharmaceutical firms has exceeded what the National Institutes of Health spends. ... The billions that the drug companies invest in such experiments help fund the world's quest for cures. But their aim is not just public health. That money is also part of a high-risk quest for profits, and over the past decade corporate interference has repeatedly muddled the nation's drug science, sometimes with potentially lethal consequences (Whoriskey, 11/24).