Signatories of Open Letter to New Zealand Health Minister: Affiliations and competing interests

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Australia Dr Peter R Mansfield, Director, Healthy Skepticism, and Research

fellow, Dept of General Practice, University of Adelaide, SA 5005. Competing interests: None declared.

Belgium Prof Marc Bogaert, Editor, Folia Pharmacotherapeutica. Competing interests: None declared.

Canada Dr Joel Lexchin, Dr Giulia Muraca & Dr Nancy Olivieri, Toronto University; Barbara Mintzes PhD, Thomas L Perry MD & James M Wright MD, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Competing interests: In 2000 JL had a contract with the Health Funding Authority of New Zealand to review the operating policies and procedures of Pharmac, the agency that manages the drug budget in New Zealand. NO, BM, TLP, JMW�none declared.

Croatia Prof Bozidar Vrhovac, Dept of Pharmacology University of Zagreb; Editor, Pharmaca

France Nicholas Moore MD, President, International Society of

Pharmacovigilance, and Professeur de Pharmacologie Clinique,

Universite Victor Segalen, Bordeaux. Competing interests: None declared.

Germany Prof Heiner Berthold, Secretary, & Prof B. Mueller-Oerlinghausen, Berlin, Chairman, Medicines Commission of German Physicians; Prof Peter Sch�nh�fer, Co-editor, Arznei-Telegramm, Berlin. Competing interests: HB, BM-O, PS�none declared.

India Prof Nilima Kshirsagar, Prof of Clinical Pharmacology and Dean,

Seth GS Medical College, Mumbai

Italy Dr Silvio Garattini, Director, Mario Negri Institute for

Pharmacological Research, Milan; member, Committee on

Proprietary Medicinal Products, European Medicines Evaluation

Agency. Competing interests: None declared.

Japan Dr Hirokuni Beppu, Editor, The Informed Prescriber, Tokyo. Competing interests: None declared;

Dr Rokuro Hama, Editor, NPOJIP (Check-up your medicine),

Osaka

Netherlands Dr Leo Offerhaus, Clinical pharmacologist, Bussum, formerly Pharmaceutical Adviser, WHO European Regional Office;

Dr Kees van Grootheest, Director, LAREB, the Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Foundation, �s Hertogenbosch. Competing interests: LO and KvG�none declared.

Norway Prof Graham Dukes, Emeritus Prof of Drug Policy, Oslo

South Africa Dr Karen Barnes, Clinical pharmacologist, University of Cape Town. Competing interests: None declared.

Spain Dr J-R Laporte, Dept of Clinical Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology, Autonomous University of Barcelona. Competing interests: None declared.

Sri Lanka Prof Krisantha Weerasuriya, Dept of Pharmacology, University of Colombo and WHO Regional Adviser on Pharmaceuticals, SEARO. Competing interests: None declared.

UK Dr David Healy, Reader in Psychiatry, University of Wales, Bangor. Competing interests: In recent years DH has had consultancies with, been a principal investigator or clinical trialist for, been a chairman or speaker at international symposia for or been in receipt of support to attend meetings from Astra-Zeneca, Boots/Knoll Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly, Janssen-Cilag, Lorex-Synthelabo, Lundbeck, Organon, Pharmacia & Upjohn, Pierre-Fabre, Pfizer, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Roche, SmithKline Beecham, Solvay. DH has been an expert witness for the plaintiff in seven legal actions involving SSRIs and has been consulted on a number of attempted suicide, suicide and suicide-homicide cases following antidepressant medication, in most of which he has offered the view that the treatment was not involved. He has been an expert witness for the NHS in a series of therapy related cases. DH has also been involved in extensive debate with the MHRA and FDA on matters germane to the reporting of adverse events arising in the course of drug treatments.; Dr Robin Ferner, Consultant clinical pharmacologist & Head, West Midlands ADR Monitoring Centre, City Hospital, Birmingham; Prof Nick Freemantle, Dept of Primary Care, and Prof Martin Kendall, Dept of Therapeutics, University of Birmingham. Competing interests: RF, NF�None declared; Prof Alain Li Wan Po, Centre for Evidence-based Pharmacy, Aston Univ, Birmingham. Competing interests: None declared;

Joe Collier, Editor, Drug & Therapeutics Bulletin, President, International Society of Drug Bulletins, and Prof of Medicines Policy, University of London. Competing interests: None declared; Prof Stephen Evans, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Competing interests: None declared;

Dr JK Aronson, Editor, Meyler�s Side Effects of Drugs and Side Effects of Drugs Annuals, Reader in Clinical Pharmacology, University of Oxford. Competing interests: JKA is Vice Chairman of the UK Medicines Commission; however, the views expressed in this letter do not necessarily reflect those of the Medicines Commission or the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency; Dr Saad Shakir, Director, Drug Safety Research Unit, Univ of Southampton. Competing interests: None declared.

USA Sidney Wolfe MD, Director & Peter Lurie MD, Deputy Director,

Health Research Group, Public Citizen, Washington DC. Competing interests: None declared.

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