BLOG: CASPS research visitor, Natsuya Sakata (MEGRI), explains how skills acquired in his visit facilitated his research in the financial ties between Pharmaceutical Companies and Patient Groups in Japan

CASPS and MEGRI collaboration facilitates research in the financial ties between Pharmaceutical Companies and Patient Groups in Japan

Natsuya Sakata, Research Fellow, Medical Governance Research Institute

My name is Natsuya Sakata, I’m a medical student and research fellow at the Medical Governance Research Institute (MEGRI) in Tokyo, Japan. In March 2024, with the generous support from the Sasakawa Foundation, I spent five weeks at a placement with the Centre for the Analysis of Social Policy and Society at the University of Bath, UK. My key goal was to learn practical interview techniques for elites and experts under the guidance of Dr Piotr Ozieranski.

Based on this learning, I am now back in Japan conducting interview research to understand the nature and significance of financial relationships between pharmaceutical companies and patient organizations. While this kind of research has been conducted in some Western countries, it is new in Japan, making our study highly relevant and timely. The most intriguing aspect of the research so far has been the clear differences emerging between Japan and Western countries.

• While lobbying by patient organisations – often in collaboration with drug companies – happens extensively the West, Japan sees far less of this activity, largely due to compliance concerns. The patient organisations I spoke to were concerned that by lobbying policymakers they may find themselves breaking existing rules for public consultations in the healthcare sector. This contrasts with countries like the UK, where patient organisations have institutionalised ways to contribute the health policy process and many of them are also very active in the social media.
• What surprised me even more was the reluctance, expressed by some patient organisations I spoke with, to engage with pharmaceutical companies. They feared that accepting financial support from these companies might lead to severe public backlash, potentially highlighting how negative public perceptions might influence their supporter base or capacity to raise funds from the public. These concerns have not featured prominently in similar research conducted in the UK, but have been raised in an Australian study.
• These concerns, however, stand in contrast to the public disclosure of information on payments made to patient organisations by drug companies. In another piece of research conducted by my mentor from MEGRI, Dr Akihiko Ozaki (who has a longstanding research collaboration with CASPS) disclosures made by drug companies are often found to be lacking sufficient detail to make these collaboration fully transparent and free from suspicion of undue influence and bias.

Through the training received at CASPS I benefitted by acquiring transferable skills in social research techniques, especially in conducting interviews. For example, I have been able to make my interviewees feel comfortable through thoughtful remarks and adjusting the structure of the questionnaire flexibly to facilitate smooth conversations. All the seven interviews conducted so far have been consistently well-received, without causing any discomfort to the participants, and have followed the necessary ethical guidelines. The interview techniques learned at the University of Bath have proven to be extremely valuable for conducting this research project and for advancing my social research skills as a medical student.