Big Pharma Is Paying Doctors to Prescribe Drugs for Multiple Sclerosis

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Briana Mercola

Alternative Health, Health & Fitness

4.6 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 21 October 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

An analysis showed that 78.5% of neurologists received payments from pharmaceutical companies, with doctors receiving more money prescribing more multiple sclerosis (MS) drugs from those companies
Payment amounts create dose-dependent effects. Even $50 payments slightly influenced prescribing patterns, while $5,000 payments nearly doubled likelihood of favoring specific company drugs
Non-consulting fees like speakership appearances accounted for two-thirds of total payments, creating ongoing relationships and brand familiarity among physicians
A combination of smart sun exposure and vitamin D3 supplementation can help manage MS. For best results, you'll need to minimize vegetable oil intake and maintain levels between 60 and 80 ng/mL
Optimizing gut microbiota through proper carbohydrate intake, gradual fiber increases, and minimizing processed foods also supports MS management without pharmaceutical intervention

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Today we're looking at how pharmaceutical money intersects with multiple sclerosis care,
0:05.0	and how you can use sunlight, vitamin D3, and targeted nutrition to support yourself with clear, measurable steps.
0:13.0	Welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. Stay informed with quick, easy-to-listen summaries of our latest articles,
0:20.0	perfect for when you're on the go.
0:21.3	No reading required.
0:22.6	Subscribe for free at Mercola.com for the latest health insights.
0:26.7	Hello and welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom.
0:29.8	I'm Ethan Foster.
0:31.5	I'm Alara Sky.
0:32.9	We'll explain what recent payment analyses uncovered,
0:35.7	why those financial ties matter for your prescriptions,
0:38.5	and how you can act on vitamin D and gut health strategies that help you manage MS without relying solely
0:44.0	on drugs.
0:45.1	A BMJ open analysis linked Medicare Part D data with the Open Payments database for 2015 to 2019,
0:53.4	among 7,401 neurologists who wrote at least 11 MS prescriptions in a year,
1:00.0	78.5% received at least one industry payment totaling $163.6 million. The money was concentrated. 95% went to
1:10.6	the top 10% of recipients, indicating a deliberate focus on high-volume prescribers.
1:16.8	Those payments aligned with behavior. Doctors who received money from a company tended to write more prescriptions for that company's MS drugs.
1:25.7	The effect scaled with size and timing. $50 nudged odds upward,
1:31.1	$5,000 nearly doubled the chance of favoring that brand. Payments sustained over time or made
1:37.5	most recently correlated with the strongest brand-leaning patterns. Payment types mattered.
1:42.9	Non-consulting fees, especially speakerships
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Briana Mercola, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Briana Mercola and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.