Depression Alliance

Depression Alliance is registered as a UK charity [1] while receiving the majority of its funding [2] from the pharmaceutical industry.

In 2004 (UK) parliamentary Minutes of Evidence [3] Depression Alliance was criticised alongside other patient groups which also receive donations from the pharmaceutical industry, for its failure to expose or criticise suppression of negative clinical data by the industry.

In 2005, Depression Alliance, co-sponsored by Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim, organized the "Pulling Together" campaign which was designed to increase awareness and recognition among physicians, patients and the media of a link between a wide range of physical symptoms and depression. This is described here [4] under the title: "Consumer Media Campaign National Depression Week for Eli Lilly's/Boehringer Ingelheim's Cymbalta"

In December 2006, Depression Alliance and SANE,[5] in partnership with and funded by Lilly UK [6] and Boehringer Ingelheim, developed the "Now We're Talking!" campaign and began by sending out their initial surveys to members of the two groups. The 427 responses were analyzed by a market research company. This was quickly followed in 2007 by the campaign's effort to a) encourage GPs to take into account a large purported number of physical ("somatic") symptoms of depression in addition to psychological symptoms, and to actively look for depression in a wide range of physical disease areas before considering an initial diagnosis and b) encourage patients to improve their own awareness of depressive symptoms or relapse and highlight them to their GP to "help them" with their diagnosis, as described in Depression Alliance's document [7] dated March 2007.

Contact details

212 Spitfire Studios
63 - 71 Collier Street
London N1 9BE
Email: information AT depressionalliance.org
Web: http://www.depressionalliance.org