Adriane Fugh-Berman is a professor in the department of pharmacology and physiology, and in the department of

family medicine Family medicine is a medical specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body. The specialist, who is usually a primary care physician, is ...

, at

Georgetown University Medical Center Georgetown University Medical Center is a Washington, D.C.–based biomedical research and educational organization affiliated with Georgetown University that is responsible for over 80% of the university's sponsored research funding and is led ...

. She is also the director of

PharmedOut PharmedOut (PhO) is a Georgetown University Medical Center project founded in 2006. It is directed by Adriane Fugh-Berman. The stated mission of the organization is to advance evidence-based prescribing and educate healthcare professionals about ...

, a

project that promotes rational prescribing and researches the effects of pharmaceutical and medical device industry marketing on prescribing behavior and therapeutic choices. Additionally, she is the co-director of the M.S. in Health and the Public Interest Program at the

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

Education

Fugh-Berman graduated from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

with a B.A. in Literature and Environmental Studies and received a B.S. from the

University of the District of Columbia The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C., United States. The only public university in the city, it traces its origins to 1851 and opened in its current form in 1 ...

. She received her M.D. from

Georgetown University School of Medicine Georgetown University School of Medicine, a medical school opened in 1851, is one of Georgetown University's five graduate schools, and is the most applied-to medical school in the nation with a matriculation rate of 1.40%. It is located on Res ...

, after which she completed an internship in family medicine at

Montefiore Medical Center Montefiore Einstein Medical Center is an academic medical center that is the primary teaching hospital of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York City. Its main campus, the Henry and Lucy Moses Division, is in the Norwo ...

Career

Prior to joining Georgetown, Fugh-Berman worked as a medical officer at the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, and with the Reproductive Toxicology Center. Fugh-Berman appeared on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

documentary "The Bleeding Edge", which highlights the dangers for patients of rushed technological changes in the medical devices field. A clip of her was featured on John Oliver's "Medical Devices" episode on HBO. Dr. Fugh-Berman is a professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine, where she also leads the PharmedOUT program. Dr. Fugh-Berman is a paid expert witness on behalf of plaintiffs in litigation regarding pharmaceutical and medical device marketing practices.

Research

Fugh-Berman has published numerous studies regarding the relationship between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry, off-label promotion, ghostwritten articles, and invented diseases. Dr. Fugh-Berman collaborates with Dr. Susan Wood at the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

Milken Institute School of Public Health and the Washington DC Department of Health on the DC Center for Rational Prescribing, which provides free, industry-free continuing medical education and resources to physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and pharmacists. Dr. Fugh-Berman is also an expert on botanical medicine and dietary supplements and directs Georgetown's Urban Herbs project, which maintains ecological gardens on campus that intermix edible, medicinal, and ornamental plants. She is the author of a clinical textbook, The 5-Minute Herb and Dietary Supplement Consult. Dr. Fugh-Berman had a career as a medical officer in the Contraception and Reproductive Health Branch at the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development. She also worked at the Reproductive Toxicology Center, a non-profit, and played a role in editing an award-winning newsletter emphasized on Women's Health Education.

Opioid crisis

Georgetown University Medical Center professor, Fugh-Berman, served as a paid expert witness in the lawsuit filed in 2017 by the State of Oklahoma against 13 major pharmaceutical companies for "damages linked to the

opioid crisis The opioid epidemic, also referred to as the opioid crisis, is the rapid increase in the overuse, misuse or abuse, and Drug overdose, overdose deaths attributed either in part or in whole to the class of drugs called opiates or opioids since th ...

. According to the original 2017 petition, Oklahoma said the sale of

Oxycontin Oxycodone, sold under the brand name Roxicodone and OxyContin (which is the extended-release form) among others, is a semi-synthetic opioid used medically for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. It is highly addictive and is a commonly ...

, by its manufacturer,

Purdue Pharma Purdue Pharma L.P., formerly the Purdue Frederick Company (1892–2019), was an American privately held pharmaceutical company founded by John Purdue Gray. It was sold to Arthur Sackler, Arthur, Mortimer Sackler, Mortimer, and Raymond Sackler in 1 ...

, from 1996 to 2009, rose from $48 million to $3 billion. According to a March 26, 2019

PBS News ''PBS News Hour'', previously stylized as ''PBS NewsHour'', is the news division of PBS and an American daily evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS member stations since October 20, 1975. It airs seven nights a week, and i ...

article, Fugh-Berman who works out of the University's Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, said that over time, "industry-generated narrative ecameconventional wisdom". PBS News wrote that "these deadly consequences didn’t happen overnight". Fugh-Berman said that the industry used "pervasive marketing tactics" to "influence conversations" between "patients", "doctors, medical school students and instructors". The article said that "One tactic that opioid manufacturers used to protect sales was the rebranding of substance use disorder as pseudo addiction — that patients who took opioid medication and later developed symptoms of addiction should be treated with more opioids. According to the ''PBS News'' March 2019 article, "while fewer doctors are writing opioid prescriptions" than they did prior to the mid-2010s, Fugh-Berman said that "it is nowhere near a reasonable level." PBS said that even in 2019, "opioid marketing continues to lead doctors to guide patients toward the drugs."

Views

Fugh-Berman has been critical of multiple popular pharmaceutical drugs and treatments, including testosterone replacement therapy and

flibanserin Flibanserin, sold under the brand name Addyi (), is a medication approved for the treatment of pre-menopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). The medication attemps to improve sexual desire, increase the number of satisfyi ...

. She has also criticized how the numerical values used to diagnose diabetes and high cholesterol have been lowered over time, and has criticized

Eli Lilly Eli Lilly (July 8, 1838 – June 6, 1898) was a Union Army officer, pharmacist, chemist, and businessman who founded Eli Lilly and Company. Lilly enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War and recruited a company of men to ...

for allegedly inventing

premenstrual dysphoric disorder Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a mood disorder characterized by emotional, cognitive, and physical symptoms. PMDD causes significant distress or impairment in menstruating women during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. The symp ...

to sell its drug Sarafem.

Personal

Fugh-Berman's mother Aline Fugh Berman () was the eldest sister of former

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

Major General John Fugh, who was married to

Connie Chung Constance Yu-Hwa Chung Povich (née Chung; born August 20, 1946) is an American journalist who has been a news anchor and reporter for the U.S. television news networks American Broadcasting Company, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC. Some of her m ...

's elder sister June. Aline's younger sister, artist Dora Fugh Lee (), is the mother of

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

-based attorney and property developer Handel Lee.

References

External links

*
Medical Devices: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fugh-Berman, Adriane Living people Georgetown University Medical Center faculty Georgetown University School of Medicine alumni American pharmacologists American women pharmacologists American women physicians American primary care physicians Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Opioid epidemic American women academics 21st-century American women