Alan Cassels

Who are you?

I am a Canadian researcher, author and journalist who has spent most of the last 30 years researching and writing about the gaps between evidence and marketing particularly in the worlds of pharmaceutical and medical-screening research. I have made a career of publicizing the roles of various actors and forces involved in the manufacturing of patients.  

What is your role in FICEBO?

My role is to serve as both a learner, deepening my understanding of FICEBO’s work, and a promoter, championing and communicating its unique contributions to the advancement of medical science.

Favorite part of your job?

The best part of my work is that it doesn’t feel like a traditional ‘job’ but an endeavor that is endlessly engaging, often deeply illuminating and wholly impactful. The best job in the world is one where you face every day with purpose and enthusiasm.

Why did you decide to enter your field?

The first drug policy study I worked on (30years ago) was to design an evidence-based consumer’s guide to osteoporosis.  This two-year study was like getting a PhD in evidence-based medicine, data manipulation, marketing science, and the psychology of public relations.  I am pretty sure that if I didn’t witness firsthand the astonishing development of a major market for the world’s first blockbuster osteoporosis drug, I would never have become an activist for research integrity.  Osteoporosis was only the tip of the iceberg and I soon saw the selling of sickness everywhere I looked in medicine. That became the title of my first book and led to a meeting with Teppo.

Who/What inspires you?

People who possess the courage and humility to pursue the truth no matter what obstacles stand in their way.  Also most inspiring to me are artists, particularly musicians, who break barriers and bring joy and sustenance to the soul.

The most interesting article you’ve read recently?

It wasn’t an article, but a book that I read recently, called Plays Well With Others by Eric Barker.  He uses science to examine our beliefs about relationships and suggests ways for us to better exist with our fellow human beings.  No one, as far as I can tell, has ever tried to document the evidence lying beneath our beliefs about relationships even though our relationships are incredibly vital to a full and healthy life.  The better we are at developing and maintaining our relationships, the happier and healthier we will all be.  In July 2025 I took this book on a gruelling seven-day mountain bike trip in the high altitude mountains of Utah, and it produced some really lively conversations with my cycling buddies about the nature of friendship.

Your favorite book and why?

I have many favorite books but one of the books I’ve read and reread is the 1984 book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by the American psychologist Robert Cialdini. He develops a taxonomy of influence and I have many times used his insights to understand the many forces at play in the world of pharmaceutical marketing.  I have come to believe that the ‘science’ behind persuasion is probably 50 years older than the science of evidence-based medicine and that unless we truly understand those ‘evidence-informed’ ways of influencing our thinking we will always be at the mercy of persuasion specialists.  I really enjoy books that can weave real field experience into a coherent narrative of how the world works.

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