‘No proof’ drug industry swayed WHO on H1N1

INDEPENDENT experts who examined the World Health Organisation’s handling of the H1N1 pandemic said they had found no evidence of drug industry influence on the UN agency’s decision-making in the crisis.

But in a draft report made public, the panel said the WHO had failed to recognise and manage conflicts of interest among some experts on its advisory Emergency Committee who had disclosed their ties to pharmaceutical companies.

The world remains “ill-prepared” to face a severe influenza pandemic or similar public health emergency, the experts added.