Martin Lancaster is a former healthcare marketing specialist who worked for international pharmaceutical company Wyeth. Prior to its consolidation with Pfizer in 2009, he was Wyeth’s regional marketing director within the Asia Pacific region for seven years (Lancaster 2018). Notable products manufactured by Wyeth include Effexor―trade name for the antidepressant Venlafaxine. While Venlafaxine is licensed for use in the treatment of major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, and panic disorder (Australian Medicines Handbook 2013), it is also used in the treatment of narcolepsy and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (Stanford University School of Medicine 2007).

(Larmer Brown n.d.)

I interviewed Martin for his insights into the acceleration of both physical and neuro-enhancing biotechnology in the pharmaceutical industry―their marketing, regulation, ethical use, and effect on the cultural pressures of academia and the workplace. During his time as Wyeth’s marketing director for the Asia Pacific region, he was not directly involved with psychiatric drug brands or their generic equivalents, however he noted the exceptional rise in sales of pseudoephedrine (PSE). He attributed this sudden increase to its abuse as a stimulant, preceding the illegal manufacture of amphetamines.

The off-label use of certain Wyeth drugs was and remains common practice, legal when at the prescriptive discretion of general practitioners (GPs). However, when drugs are used in the complete absence of medical supervision, there is a danger that misinformation regarding side effects and dosage can lead to dangerous or even fatal consequences. Martin references Swiss physician Paracelsus (1493–1541), who laconically stated, ‘the right dosage differentiates poison from a remedy.’ He does note that there is ample information on the internet that can mitigate some of this risk. I drew a connection between this self-medicating practice and public ‘body hacking’ forums like The Immortality Institute (ImmInst.org) where members share their recreational adjustment of cognitive function through drugs and supplements (Talbot 2009).

(Rebel Circus n.d.)

Martin agreed that competitiveness in academia, elite sports, and the workplace has seen an exponential increase in contemporary culture, although he doesn’t believe that this will result in the commonplace use of cognitive/physical enhancers until drug regulation legally approves their use by healthy individuals. The critical barrier to their regulatory acceptance and commercial success is what Martin calls ‘an acceptable side effects profile.’ He has no doubt that in the future, science will develop drugs that surpass benefits of enhanced executive functions (alertness, attention, memory, cognitive flexibility and anti-fatigue) to target higher order executive functions (improved reasoning, problem solving, and planning). The achievement of these impressive benefits, consolidated with a satisfactory safety profile, and the post-patent price reduction on generics, is the point when the ‘performance enhancement’ market will reach critical mass.

From the perspective of someone who has observed the healthcare market shift for the last three decades, I find Martin’s future scenario to be one that maps time akin to Sohail Inayatulluh’s first pillar of futures thinking. By considering biotechnology from three dimensions―the past, present, and future― he has perceived an image of evolution and progress. That is, ‘more technology, man as the centre of the world, and a belief in rationality’ (Inayatulluh 2008).

Citation

Lancaster, M. 2018, User Profile, LinkedIn, viewed 1 October 2018, <https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-lancaster-426a0a12/ >.

Rossi, S. (ed) 2013, Australian Medicines Handbook, The Australian Medicines Handbook Unit, Adelaide.

Stanford University School of Medicine 2007, Medications, Stanford, viewed viewed 1 October 2018, <https://web.archive.org/web/20070821090305/http://med.stanford.edu/school/Psychiatry/narcolepsy/medications.html >.

Larmer Brown n.d., Wyeth case banner, viewed 23 October 2018, <http://www.larmerbrown.com/case-studies/wyeth/ >.

Talbot, M. 2009, “Brain gain- the underground world of ‘neuroenhancing’ drugs”, The New Yorker, 27 April, viewed 26 September 2018, <https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/04/27/brain-gain >.

Rebel Circus n.d., Nootropics, viewed 23 October 2018, <https://www.rebelcircus.com/blog/smart-drugs-people-pursuing-brain-enhancing-nootropics/ >.

Inayatullah, S. 2008, ‘Six pillars: futures thinking for transforming’, Foresight, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 4-21.