Centaur, Heal Thyself

Published 15 September 2026

Author(s): Gabriel de Paula

Chiron trained nearly every physician worth their salt in the Greek myths. He taught the great healer Asclepius everything he knew about medicine. Yet when a stray arrow from Heracles struck him, Chiron could do nothing for his own wound, and being immortal, he couldn’t die to end the pain. Chiron might have been the greatest healer in the ancient world, but in the end, he was his own incurable patient.

Pharma is like Chiron. Although we have long since overtaken him as the world’s greatest healer, we’re nevertheless facing a similar affliction to his. In some ways it’s worse: Chiron was only hit by one arrow, and at least he didn’t fire it himself. Pharma has several pluming out of its chest, and it has thrust them there willingly.

We pretend that this isn’t the case, that these poisoned arrows were fired by others: lazy HCPs who tune out after the tenth version of the same message this quarter; boards who don’t want to hear a finding that complicates the plan: it’s everyone’s fault except the one holding the bow.

Look closer, and those two arrowshafts have our own fingerprints on them.