About Bad Pharma:
WINNER, 2024 LITERARY TITAN GOLD BOOK AWARD!
WINNER, 2025 INDEPENDENT PRESS DISTINGUISHED BOOK AWARD!
Science, greed, and a race against time—this is the story Big Pharma doesn’t want you to know.
Inspired by a true story, Bad Pharma explores the consequential issues surrounding drug development, which often puts science and business at odds, and asks the ultimate question: when is the risk not worth the reward?
Onward Pharmaceutical Labs (OPL), one of the world’s largest pharma companies, is completing the development of a new vaccine, RSVIX, to protect children from a respiratory virus — the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV — that endangers the lives of infants and young children. OPL expects RSVIX to be their next blockbuster and hopes to quickly capture most of the $7B U.S. market. The final clinical study before licensure is a head-to-head comparison with RESPIRWELL, the currently licensed vaccine produced by OPL’s rival, Beamer Labs. To succeed in the trial, OPL must prove equal protection with the four common serotypes their vaccine shares with Beamer’s licensed vaccine while adding coverage for five additional strains of the virus that RESPIRWELL does not have.
When Siddhartha Kumar, OPL’s lead medical monitor assigned to the trial, discovers that RSVIX is not performing as planned, he notifies his superiors, recommending they stop the trial and offer a dose of RESPIRWELL to all the study participants to ensure their protection. When the company refuses to inoculate the trial population with the licensed vaccine, Sid questions the ethics behind this decision while continuing to advocate for the safety of the children. Sid’s insistence leads to his dismissal, leaving like-minded others in the company scrambling to fill the void.
Discover the chilling reality of corporate ambition and moral compromise in Bad Pharma—a medical thriller that will leave you questioning the cost of life-saving breakthroughs. Get your copy now and uncover the truth!
” A deep dive into company greed….. their narrative asks salient questions about corporate accountability, profit and ethics in drug development”…….. KIRKUS REVIEWS, NOV 2024
“Bad Pharma is a moral inquiry wrapped in an engaging narrative. I would highly recommend it to anyone intrigued by the intersection of science, ethics, and corporate drama. This book will make you question how much we’re willing to compromise in the name of “progress”. 5 stars! ” Thomas Anderson, Editor-in-Chief, LITERARY TITAN
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Author Bio:
Pam Lazos is an environmental lawyer, freelance editor, and ghostwriter. She has authored several books, including the enviro-thriller “Oil and Water,” about oil spills and green technology; “Six Sisters,” a collection of novellas about family, dysfunction, and the ties that bind us; the children’s book “Into the Land of the Loud,” and “Bad Pharma.” She created the literary and environmental blog “greenlifebluewater”; is a blogger for the Global Water Alliance (GWA) in Philadelphia, PA; and an issues editor for the International Journal of Water Equity and Justice (University of Pennsylvania). She practices laughter daily.