Drug Company Disguised Advertising As Science 172
ananyo writes "A former pharmaceutical company employee has blown the whistle on drug promotion disguised as science. Drug companies occasionally conduct post-marketing studies to collect data on the safety and efficacy of drugs in the real world, after they've been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 'However,' writes the anonymous author in an editorial in the British Medical Journal (subscription required), 'some of the [post-marketing] studies I worked on were not designed to determine the overall risk:benefit balance of the drug in the general population. They were designed to support and disseminate a marketing message.' According to the whistleblower, the results of these studies were often dubious. 'We occasionally resorted to "playing" with the data that had originally failed to show the expected result,' he says. 'This was done by altering the statistical method until any statistical significance was found.' He adds that the company sometimes omitted negative results and played down harmful side effects. Nature says it was unable to work out who the writer was but they likely worked on diabetes and the studies criticized were from the Denmark-based pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk."
zzzz (Score:5, Insightful)
Perhaps if big Pharma was actually honest that would merit a story.
SOP.
Big Surprise (Score:4, Insightful)
Everyone does this (Score:4, Insightful)
This was done by altering the statistical method until any statistical significance was found
I'm convinced that backing into a conclusion by playing with analysis is the raison d'être of most white collar work in the Western world. Using 'risk' models to rationalize market positions enables arbitrary use of capital by so-called banks. Economic and climate analysis pretty much boil down to teasing out curves that fit the preconceived policies of various statists.
Not surprising that multi-billion dollar drug companies.leverage the same tools. Monkey see monkey do.
Re:Everyone does this (Score:4, Insightful)
George Carlin said it best:
Cuz ya do know folks, Ya do know, livng in this country you know, that every time you're exposed to advertising you realize once again that America's leading industry, America's most profitable business is still the manufacturing, packaging, distribution, and marketing of BULLSHIT. High quality, Grade A, Prime cut, Pure American BULLSHIT.
And the sad part is, Most people seem indoctorinated to believe that bullshit only comes from certain places, certain sources. Advertising, politics, salesmen, not true. Bullshit is everywhere, bullshit is rampant. Parents are full of shit, teachers are full of shit, clergymen are full of shit, and law enforcment people are full of shit, this entire country is completely full of shit, and always has been, from the Declaration of Independance, to the Constitution, to the Star Spangled Banner, it's really nothing more than one BIG steaming pile of red white and blue all Americian BULLSHIT.
Re:Everyone does this (Score:4, Insightful)
This was done by altering the statistical method until any statistical significance was found
I'm convinced that backing into a conclusion by playing with analysis is the raison d'être of most white collar work in the Western world.
I thought that's how we were taught to do labs back in all my science classes.
Duh (Score:5, Insightful)
This is what happens in for-profit research. And for that matter, if you need results to get the next grant, then you're effectively doing for-profit research. The whole practice of science, private and public is essentially profit driven. Until we start rewarding scientists for negative results as well as we do positive results, we're going to see a lot of faulty positive data published. This is why most major published results in cancer science can't be replicated, for instance.
Lies, damned lies, and statistics (Score:4, Insightful)
The whole point of the field of statistics is to keep changing your models until you find one that shows the result you want. Why else do you think there are more than a dozen different normalization tests?
Sounds like Climate Scientists (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:zzzz (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Everyone does this (Score:5, Insightful)
Because the only healthy response to our world right now is to laugh at it.
Re:Big Surprise (Score:4, Insightful)
Just because it's the status quo doesn't make it right.
Apathy is what allows this crap to continue.
Re:Let's Look at Those Two Relationships (Score:4, Insightful)
You can't play the game unless you're rich enough to begin with to buy politicians off.
Because the moment you step on the field you are a target and the elite have the referees on their own payroll.
Re:zzzz (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Lies, damned lies, and statistics (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:zzzz (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:zzzz (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:zzzz (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:zzzz (Score:5, Insightful)
The problem is that a lot of drugs that work TOO WELL do not in fact make money. Take a look at vaccines for example. You need one shot every ten years for most standard vaccines. They have extremely high success chance. And they're not making any meaningful money, because they are simply not needed that often.
On the other hand, psychotropic drugs that are designed to combat depression? Shitty success rate in comparison, but profit leaders.