Big Pharma's Spin

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, December 4, 2008.

Drug companies are facing more negative press for their marketing tactics – new research shows that big pharm has been trying to spin published results of clinical drug trials.

According to a study from the University of California at San Francisco, the manipulation of facts occurs not just in marketing materials – that might be expected – but in peer-reviewed medical journals, where information is supposed to be free from bias.

Lisa Bero led the research. She’s a professor at the school, where’s she’s co-chair of the Cochrane Center as well as vice chair of the department of clinical pharmacy. And she joins us live on the line. Click here to read her research.

(Photo by Anael Raziel)

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I have learned that it is very hard to find a completely subjective/unbiased opinion. Whether it is a report or a panel, or someone evaluating the effectiveness of a medication. The first step to a somewhat subjective opinion is to not have any questionable financial ties. Thats harder than it sounds to find these days.

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