Trust in Pharma Is Plummeting

May 9, 2025 
Contributing Authors: Team TRILITY / ACEND

Trust in Pharma Is Plummeting—And Wellness Is on the Rise: Why Medical Foods Like ACEND Are Filling the Gap

For more than a century, the pharmaceutical industry has been a cornerstone of modern healthcare, credited with revolutionary breakthroughs from antibiotics to immunotherapies. Yet today, we are witnessing a striking erosion of public trust in the very institutions that once symbolized medical progress. According to Gallup polls, public confidence in the pharmaceutical industry has dropped from approximately 55% in 2012 to 35% in 2018—and plummeted to a mere 15% by 2023. This sharp decline prompts an important question: Why are people losing faith in Big Pharma?

At the same time, something remarkable is happening. Interest in natural wellness—defined by proactive nutrition, exercise, and non-pharmaceutical interventions to support health span and longevity—is surging. Consumers are demanding transparency, agency, and science-backed solutions that align with their values. And as chronic diseases remain a growing burden with age, medical foods like ACEND are stepping forward to bridge the gap between confusion and clarity, between skepticism and science.

What’s Behind the Collapse of Trust in the Pharmaceutical Industry?

Several factors may explain why the public’s faith in the pharmaceutical industry is eroding so rapidly:

1. Perception of Profit Over People
One of the leading causes of distrust is the widely held belief that pharmaceutical companies prioritize profits over patient wellbeing. High-profile cases—such as the opioid epidemic and insulin price hikes—have left the public questioning whether drug pricing is driven by necessity or greed. Between 1999 and 2020, nearly 500,000 people died from opioid overdoses in the U.S. alone. Many of these drugs were aggressively marketed by pharmaceutical companies while downplaying addiction risks.

2. Lack of Transparency
Pharmaceutical lobbying and lack of transparency in clinical trial data further fuel skepticism. People are more informed than ever, and when data is withheld or skewed in favor of commercial outcomes, it undercuts confidence in the scientific process.

3. Overmedication and Side Effects
The U.S. leads the world in prescription drug consumption, with nearly 66% of adults taking at least one prescription medication. Many feel that healthcare has become too reactive—focused on treating symptoms rather than addressing root causes. The prevalence of side effects and the polypharmacy epidemic in aging populations add to concerns about long-term drug safety.

4. Pandemic Fallout
The COVID-19 pandemic brought these issues into sharp relief. Misinformation, politicization of treatment protocols, rushed approvals, and inconsistent messaging during the crisis left many people confused and disillusioned, especially when pharmaceutical interests appeared to dominate public health narratives.

The Wellness Renaissance: A Return to Roots

Even as trust in pharmaceuticals dwindles, belief in natural health practices has never been stronger. The global wellness economy is now valued at over $5 trillion, with dietary supplements, fitness, and functional foods at its center.

1. Proactive Health Mindsets
A growing body of research shows that lifestyle choices—like diet, physical activity, and sleep—play a pivotal role in preventing chronic disease. Consumers are now seeking to extend not just lifespan, but health span, through habits that support vitality into old age.

2. Nutritional Literacy and Ingredient Awareness
The average consumer is increasingly informed about nutrients like polyphenols, omega-3s, and adaptogens. There is a growing recognition that what we consume daily has a powerful impact on inflammation, gut health, immunity, and neurodegeneration.

3. Personalization and Agency
Wearable health devices, at-home testing, and personalized nutrition platforms are empowering individuals to take charge of their health—moving the focus from prescriptive treatment to self-managed wellness.

But therein lies a problem: With thousands of supplements on the market, consumers are overwhelmed. How do you know what to take? Which combination of capsules actually works? How do you ensure quality, dosing, and synergy?

The Confusing Supplement Aisle: Too Much Choice, Too Little Direction

The U.S. dietary supplement market includes more than 90,000 products. It’s a crowded and largely unregulated industry where labels can be misleading, dosages inconsistent, and efficacy often questionable.

While some supplements may offer benefits, many fail to deliver measurable improvements. Without clinical guidance or condition-specific formulations, consumers are left guessing. This confusion results in either decision paralysis—or a cabinet full of half-used bottles with little impact on health outcomes.

Enter Medical Foods: Precision Wellness Without the Guesswork

Medical foods like ACEND offer a new paradigm: science-backed, food-derived therapeutics designed for the dietary management of specific conditions.

Unlike generic supplements, medical foods are formulated with precise bioactive compounds—often derived from fruits, vegetables, minerals, and probiotics—tailored to address underlying physiological dysfunctions such as chronic inflammation, metabolic imbalance, or neurodegeneration.

What Makes ACEND Different?
ACEND is a drug-free, food-based medical food developed specifically for individuals managing inflammation-related chronic conditions. It is built on a foundation of clinically studied polyphenols and micronutrients, including:

• Quercetin, Luteolin, and Epicatechin: Polyphenols with pleiotropic anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.

• CurcuRouge®: A proprietary curcumin extract with clinically enhanced bioavailability.

• N-Acetyl L-Cysteine (NAC): A precursor to glutathione, supporting detoxification and mitochondrial health.

• Probiotic strains like Bacillus coagulans: To rebalance gut flora and support the immune system.

Every compound in ACEND is selected based on peer-reviewed research and formulated to target root causes of disease—such as cytokine overproduction, oxidative stress, and gut barrier dysfunction.

In other words, ACEND removes the guesswork. It is not just another supplement; it’s a condition-specific, high-integrity medical food grounded in evidence and designed to work.

A Solution Aligned with Modern Health Values

Medical foods like ACEND meet today’s consumers where they are: scientifically savvy, wellness-oriented, and skeptical of outdated systems that no longer reflect their values.

They want:

• Transparency over marketing hype.

• Efficacy over empty promises.

• Prevention and resilience over symptom suppression.

• Personalization and precision over trial and error.

And above all, they want to feel better—and stay better—as they age.

What does this mean?

As public trust in the pharmaceutical industry reaches historic lows, and natural wellness continues its meteoric rise, medical foods offer a much-needed middle path. For those navigating chronic health issues or simply seeking to maintain vitality, medical foods like ACEND represent the best of both worlds: science and nature, precision and simplicity, function and food.

They are not a replacement for critical pharmaceuticals when needed—but they are a revolutionary tool in a broader, more empowered approach to human health.

References

1. Gallup. (2023). Americans’ Confidence in Institutions. https://news.gallup.com/poll/12748/trust-institutions.aspx   

2. Gallup Poll Data on Industry Trust: Gallup 2023 Industry Ratings

3. Bokhour, B. G., et al. (2016). The role of health beliefs in patient engagement. Patient Education and Counseling, 99(5), 806–812.

4. Goyal, A., & Jialal, I. (2023). Biochemistry, Inflammation. StatPearls Publishing.

5. Vitetta, L., et al. (2013). The gastrointestinal tract microbiome and its relationship to inflammation. Nutrients, 5(4), 1119–1134.

6. Molfino, A., et al. (2023). Nutraceuticals and medical foods: a new frontier for management of chronic inflammation. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, 53, 77–84.

Note: Always consult with a healthcare professional before considering any treatment options or significant dietary changes.