big pharma conspiracy theories big pharma conspiracy theories big pharma conspiracy theories are conspiracy theories which claim that the medical community in general and pharmaceutical companies in particular, especially large corporations, operate for sinister purposes and against the public good, that they conceal effective treatments, or even cause and worsen a wide range of diseases for the purpose of profitability, or for other nefarious reasons. some theories have included the claim that natural alternative remedies to health problems are being suppressed, the claim that drugs for the treatment of hiv/aids are ineffective and harmful, the claim that a cure for all cancers has been discovered but hidden from the public, claims that covid-19 vaccines are ineffective, and that alternative cures are available for covid-19. in each case the conspiracy theorists have blamed pharmaceutical companies' search for profits. a range of authors have shown these claims to be false, though some of these authors nevertheless maintain that other criticisms of the pharmaceutical industry are legitimate. this article is about a group of conspiracy theories. for the pharmaceutical industry in general, see pharmaceutical industry. this article is part of a series onalternative medicine general information alternative medicine history terminology alternative veterinary medicine quackery (health fraud) rise of modern medicine pseudoscience antiscience skepticism scientific therapeutic nihilism fringe medicine and science acupressure acupuncture alkaline diet anthroposophic medicine apitherapy applied kinesiology aromatherapy association for research and enlightenment auriculotherapy bates method black salve bodywork bone-setting bowen technique breathwork camel urine fake covid-19 treatments cancer treatments charcoal cleanse chelation therapy chiropractic chiropractic treatment techniques vertebral subluxation christian science chromotherapy colon cleansing coffee enema colorpuncture colloidal silver craniosacral therapy crystal healing cupping therapy dental amalgam controversy detoxification foot detox dry needling ear candling energy medicine correactology esoteric energy therapeutic touch estrogen dominance fabunan antiviral injection facilitated communication feldenkrais method functional medicine hair analysis herbal medicine holistic dentistry hologram bracelet homeopathy bach flower remedies biological terrain assessment hydrotherapy hypnotherapy iridology ionized jewelry jilly juice lightning process lymphotherapy medical intuitive mesmerism magnet therapy manual therapy megavitamin therapy mind–body interventions mms myofascial release naet naturopathy oil pulling orgone orthomolecular medicine orthopathy osteomyology osteopathy ozone therapy parapsychology phrenology postural integration psychic surgery psychodermatology quantum healing radionics rapid prompting method rbop reiki reflexology rolfing scientific racism thetahealing thought field therapy urophagia vaginal steaming vision therapy vitalism vegetotherapy young blood transfusion zero balancing conspiracy theories big pharma conspiracy theories hiv/aids denialism opv aids hypothesis anti-vaccinationism in chiropractic vaccines and autism mmr vaccine and autism water fluoridation controversy covid-19 misinformation classifications alternative medical systems mind–body intervention biologically-based therapy manipulative methods energy therapy traditional medicine african muti southern africa ayurveda dosha mvah balneotherapy brazilian bush medicine cambodian chinese blood stasis chinese herbology dit da gua sha gill plate trade meridian moxibustion pressure point qi san jiao tui na zang-fu chumash curandero faith healing hilot iranian jamu kambo japanese korean mien shiang mongolian prophetic medicine shamanism shiatsu siddha sri lankan thai massage tibetan unani vietnamese diagnoses adrenal fatigue aerotoxic syndrome candida hypersensitivity chronic lyme disease electromagnetic hypersensitivity heavy legs leaky gut syndrome multiple chemical sensitivity wilson's temperature syndrome history and definition according to steven novella the term big pharma has come to connote a demonized form of the pharmaceutical industry. professor of writing robert blaskiewicz has written that conspiracy theorists use the term big pharma as "shorthand for an abstract entity comprising corporations, regulators, ngos, politicians, and often physicians, all with a finger in the trillion-dollar prescription pharmaceutical pie". according to blaskiewicz, the big pharma conspiracy theory has four classic traits: first, the assumption that the conspiracy is perpetrated by a small malevolent cabal; secondly, the belief that the public at large is ignorant of the truth; thirdly, that its believers treat lack of evidence as evidence; and finally, that the arguments deployed in support of the theory are irrational, misconceived, or otherwise mistaken. in the 1970s and 1980s, the conspiracy theory was promoted by ann wigmore who held that diseases, including cancer and hiv/aids, could be effectively treated with a raw food diet. in this context, wigmore believed that the pharmaceutical industry was part of a conspiracy to keep the population at large ill. andré picard wrote in 2009 that the internet had radically changed the nature of popular scientific discourse from being infrequent and deferential to widespread and conspiracy based: scientific debate was often supplanted by dismissal of science as being "part of some vast conspiracy". in the conspiracist world view, "doctors, nurses, pharmacists, pharmacologists, biochemists, immunologists, geneticists and journalists are not to be trusted. they are all on the take". research in italy in 2016 found that nearly half the adult population subscribed to a big pharma conspiracy theory (that pharmaceutical companies were hiding a cure for neurodegenerative diseases), but that such beliefs were negatively correlated to mainstream religion while having anti-science and anti-elitism bases. manifestations the conspiracy theory has a variety of different specific manifestations. each has different narratives, but they always cast "big pharma" as the villain of the piece. hiv/aids since the beginning of the aids epidemic, many dangerous hypotheses have been put forward to explain the origin and nature of the disease. one conspiracy theory claims that aids was created by the us government to control and/or wipe out gays and african americans. also, there is a cure for hiv/aids that is withheld from the poor. other theories say that although the virus is harmful, the risks of antiretroviral drugs outweigh the benefits. the drugs are said to be toxins that are spread by doctors who have been corrupted by the pharmaceutical industry. in a 2006 column for harper's magazine, journalist celia farber claimed that the antiretroviral drug nevirapine was part of a conspiracy by the "scientific-medical complex" to spread toxic drugs. farber said that aids is not caused by hiv and that nevirapine had been unethically administered to pregnant women in clinical trials, leading to a fatality. farber's theories and claims were refuted by scientists, but, according to researcher seth kalichman, the resulting publicity represented a breakthrough moment for aids denialism. the former president of south africa, thabo mbeki, influenced by aids denier peter duesberg, introduced policies that denied treatments to aids patients. according to estimates this led, among other things, to more than 300,000 people dying prematurely. cure for cancer a recurring conspiracy theory claims that the pharmaceutical industry has a cure for cancer, but suppresses it so that they can continue to make billions on the "ineffective" treatments currently given to cancer patients. this was believed by 27% of the american public according to a 2005 survey. the argument is that pharmaceutical companies are slowing down research for a comprehensive cure for cancer by developing high-profit, single-purpose treatments rather than focusing on a supposed cure-all for all cancers. vaccines