ResponsibleShopper.org: What Do You Know About The Companies In Your Medicin...( New Big Pharma Section Added to Gre...),Health

New "Big Pharma" Section Added to Green America's Web Site for Concerned Consumers; GlaxoSmithKline, Merck Rated Highest, While Novartis, Abbott, Pfizer and Sanofi Aventis Bring Up Rear.

WASHINGTON, June 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Are the corporations in your medicine cabinet good companies or bad companies? That is the question that is tackled the newly added "Big Pharma" section of Green America's consumer watchdog Web site, ResponsibleShopper.org (http://www.ResponsibleShopper.org).

Looking at environmental, human rights, labor, ethics & governance, and health & safety issues, the ResponsibleShopper.org ranks GlaxoSmithKline the best, Merck second best and tied for last place: Novartis, Abbott, Pfizer and Sanofi Aventis. Companies in the industry received low marks overall for corporate responsibility.

Green America Responsible Shopper Coordinator Victoria Kreha said: "It's a big step forward for ResponsibleShopper.org to add 'Big Pharma' to the range of industries we profile on our corporate watchdog Web site. You may already know about how the brand-name pharmaceutical giants are notorious for fighting against generic manufacture of their prescription medications - keeping their profits high, and cheaper versions of their drugs off the market. But did you also know that major pharmaceutical companies have been increasingly outsourcing their clinical trials to private contractors in developing countries? And that critics have charged that families aren't always properly informed about possible side effects of experimental drugs, leading to severe permanent health problems - from kidney, liver, and heart damage to neurological injuries and even death?"

Green America Corporate Responsibility Programs Director Todd Larsen said
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