"Pharmanoia": yes or no?

In an article on Slate.com, Jon Cohen deplores the extreme distrust of drug companies, or 'pharmanoia', that he says is detracting attention from more legitimate concerns. He claims that more and more people, especially in poor countries, are asking what they stand to gain from taking part in clinical trials. He argues that these fears are based on "uninformed demagogy".

Cohen acknowledges that Big Pharma is guilty of some unethical behaviour but overall he suggests that it is being unfairly compared to Big Tobacco. His arguments are far from compelling. Colour me skeptical.