An extensive and very worthwhile assessment of
publication bias in clinical drug trials. What is truly shameful (and I was unaware of this) is the fact that drug trial sponsors (typically the drug manufacturers) get to control the publication of impartial researchers’ results and sometimes even the conduct of the trial itself. Even more disturbing are the instances where profit is prioritised ahead of children’s safety.
Will seek out the book soonest.
I agree with Goldacre that the checks and balances are out of kilter and contra-scientific but I also think the solution could be fairly simple in principle: No new drugs will be admitted onto the market unless they are tested successfully by three (or more) independent, reputable authorities that have an obligation to publish their results and findings in their entirety, as well as minimum criteria governing the trials (such as number and characteristics of trial participants and testing personnel). Any inappropriate or corrupt action on the part of the testing authorities should be severely dealt with. In short, the drug manufacturer still funds the trials but does not get to reserve any rights other than to the drug’s name and to manufacturing it. You’d certainly need most of the world’s countries to buy into this scheme and here the UN’s WHO could prove its worth by establishing the necessary regulations and standards.
Healthcare is just too important to be subjugated under the vagaries of capitalist values, and these shenanigans serve only to undermine the public’s confidence in evidence-based medicine.
'Luthon64