AB-InBev pulls support from study on effects of moderate alcohol consumption

AB-InBev has cancelled its financial support for a study overseen by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the US Department of Health & Human Services, that aims to assess the health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption, according to various US media.

The ten-year, USD 100 million study has attracted criticism because it was to be largely funded by alcohol producers, including AB-InBev, which put the study’s neutrality into doubt.

Moreover, a series of media investigations suggested that lead researchers and NIH officials had received funding by strongly hinting that the research would argue in their favour – that is, it would show that moderate consumption was ok and could even lower the risk of common diseases.

In the end, AB-InBev, Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Heineken, and Carlsberg reportedly pledged USD 67.7 million for the study through a foundation that raises funds for NIH research. AB-InBev had committed USD 15.4 million of that. Allegedly, the money from the foundation for the NIH had no strings attached.

However, because of the mounting criticism, in May 2018, the NIH announced that it had suspended enrolment in the study while it conducted two investigations, one that looked into the methods of fundraising, the other into the scientific merits of the study itself.

Before the results of the investigations were out (expected this June), AB-InBev, in a letter to the foundation, announced it was withdrawing its funding pledge. As was reported, AB-InBev said it did not want to undermine the study’s credibility, hence its withdrawal. Still, AB-InBev felt the need to stress that it had not interfered with the study’s design or execution, as stringent firewalls had been put in place to safeguard its objectivity and independence.