Corporate Capture & Official Health Science: A Timeline (1900s–2025)
(Aug 19, 2025)
1901 — Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research founded
• Major philanthropic endowment concentrated on laboratory-based biomedicine; private capital shapes academic research priorities.
Rockefeller University – History: https://www.rockefeller.edu/about/history-timeline/
Wikipedia: Rockefeller University: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_University
1910 — Flexner Report reshapes North American medical education
• Carnegie-funded report led to closure/merger of many ‘sectarian’ schools, centralizing training within universities.
• Rockefeller philanthropies later funded medical education aligned with Flexner’s standards.
“The present report upon medical education … is the first result of that action.”
Flexner Report (Carnegie PDF): https://archive.carnegiefoundation.org/publications/pdfs/elibrary/Carnegie_Flexner_Report.pdf
Flexner & CAM impact (PMC, 2012): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3543812/
Constellations (2021): ‘sectarian’ schools criticized
https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/constellations/index.php/constellations/article/view/29450
1913 — Rockefeller Foundation chartered
• Expanded funding for public health & medical education (e.g., Peking Union Medical College).
Rockefeller Archive Center: https://rockarch.org/resources/about-the-rockefellers/john-d-rockefeller-sr/
1920–1933 — Prohibition, Rockefeller funding, and repeal letter
• Rockefeller support helped power the Anti-Saloon League; motivations centered on temperance and social reform. (Standard Oil vs Ethanol)
• In June 1932, John D. Rockefeller Jr. publicly urged repeal, citing unintended harms and lawlessness.
• Claim that Prohibition was primarily to suppress motor-fuel ethanol is debated; mainstream histories do not establish direct causal motive.
“I hoped that it would be widely supported… I have come to believe that this has not been the result. (JDR Jr., 1932)”
Rockefeller Jr. 1932 letter (scan): https://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/rockefellerletter1937.pdf
NEH ‘Going Dry’: https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2011/septemberoctober/feature/going-dry
CRS/Constitution Annotated: https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt21-S1-2-3/ALDE_00013856/
1967 (revealed 2016) — Sugar Research Foundation funded Harvard review
• Archival analysis found SRF paid Harvard researchers; review emphasized saturated fat over sugar in CHD causation.
Kearns et al., JAMA Internal Medicine (2016): https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2548255
1986 — National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (U.S.)
• Created Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). Manufacturers gained liability protection for covered vaccines.
HRSA: VICP: https://www.hrsa.gov/vaccine-compensation/index.html
1992 → — Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA)
• User fees accelerated approvals; subsequent analyses link some expedited pathways with higher rates of warnings/withdrawals.
PMC: FDA Approval and Safety: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4594475/
2004 — Vioxx (rofecoxib) withdrawn
• High-profile safety failure sharpened scrutiny of approval speed vs. post-market surveillance.
“Merck announced a voluntary worldwide withdrawal of Vioxx (rofecoxib).”
FDA: Vioxx Q&A: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/vioxx-rofecoxib-questions-and-answers
NEJM editorial: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp048286
2007 — Purdue Pharma pleads guilty
• Corporate criminal plea over OxyContin misbranding; shaped debates over accountability.
US DOJ press release (2007): https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2007/May/07_civ_328.html
2010–2013 → — Physician Payments Sunshine Act (Open Payments)
• CMS reports tens of billions in industry payments/ownership interests since launch.
“In Program Year 2022… reported $12.59 billion in publishable payments.”
CMS Report to Congress – Open Payments: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/open-payments-fy-2023-report-congress.pdf
CMS Open Payments data portal: https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/
2015 — Coca-Cola funds Global Energy Balance Network
• Criticized for shifting obesity focus to exercise; disbanded after exposure.
2020 → — PREP Act COVID-19 declaration
• Granted broad liability immunity for covered countermeasures. Canada announced indemnity agreements and Vaccine Injury Support Program.
ASPR/HHS PREP Act: https://www.phe.gov/emergency/events/COVID19/Legal/Pages/Immunity.aspx
Reuters: Canada indemnity: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-canada-vaccines-idUSKBN2852I8
Canada – VISP: https://vaccineinjurysupport.ca/en
2015–2025 — Public-private partnerships at public health agencies
• CDC Foundation lists numerous corporate donors; critics argue such ties risk agenda-setting.
CDC Foundation partners: https://www.cdcfoundation.org/partners/corporate-organizational
BMJ investigation (2015): https://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h5727
2024–2025 — Accountability flashpoints
• U.S. Supreme Court (2024) blocked Sackler family immunity in Purdue settlement.
• In 2025, shake-ups of vaccine advisory committees drew attention; research showed historically low conflicts.
Reuters: SCOTUS Purdue (2024): https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-supreme-court-blocks-6-billion-purdue-pharma-opioid-settlement-2024-06-27/
Reuters (Aug 18, 2025): https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-vaccine-advisers-freed-conflicts-money-ties-historic-lows-2025-08-18/