on this subject, although not entirely unfounded, is not very helpful. One certainly does not have to look far to find abundant evidence of systematic avarice on the part of big pharma, along with what might be interpreted as collusion by government agencies who are supposed to be protecting the interests of their citizens.
I attended a panel session at the Parkinsons Congress sponsored by the Parkinson Pipeline in which I discovered that the major drug makers pay the FDA to expedite the process of study and approval of drugs they have submitted. When I asked how long this has been going on, some individuals whom I later identified as big pharma employees, said "Oh, five or ten years." When I raised the question of the apparent conflict of interest created by that situation, it was explained to me that those "fees" were used to pay for additional clerical and administrative personnel the FDA needed in order to prevent major backogs in the process created by the multiple submissions from those large companies. Sounds reasonable... (???)

Back to the matter of cynicism; I know enough really hard-working, dedicated, honest researchers in the fields of neuroscience and neuropharmacology to keep me from being a complete cynic. There are some really exciting discoveries emerging from some academic laboratories studying the basic science of neurodegenerative diseases. In particular, I think that effective neuroprotection will be available within the decade as the funtions of some of the recently discovered PD-predisposing genes such as LRRK2 are worked out. As a scientist with familial PD, and also a father and grandfather, I recognize that pessimism and skepticism are simply too destructive for me to allow those attitudes to smother the hope necessary to stay in the fight.