I'd be quite surprised if this didn't happen quite frequently, just perhaps not publicized. I assume there is plenty of pressure on scientists to tailor results to wards a pre-ordained conclusion, especially those whose studies are being funded by pharmaceutical companies, and especially when so much money rests in the balance. P&G is used to getting its way, in all things.
WSJ.com - Scientist Presses Claim P&G Misrepresented Actonel Data
Scientist Presses Claim P&G Misrepresented Actonel DataA scientist hired by Procter & Gamble Co. who alleges his data were misrepresented in P&G research abstracts for the osteoporosis drug Actonel is meeting with congressional staffers and the National Institutes of Health this week to press his case.
Aubrey Blumsohn, a senior lecturer and bone-metabolism specialist at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, says P&G misrepresented the drug's effectiveness in several research publications. He also says that P&G withheld data from him and wrote abstracts using his name that he couldn't properly review.
The moves occur in an atmosphere of heightened scrutiny of the relationship between pharmaceutical companies, scientific researchers and medical journals.
Lawmakers concerned about selective disclosure of clinical-trial data from drug makers were receptive to Dr. Blumsohn's message. “This isn't the first time, and I bet it won't be the last, that we hear concerns about drug companies selectively withholding unfavorable clinical-trial data,” said Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, whose staff met with Dr. Blumsohn yesterday. “It's a recurring complaint and a detriment to rigorous scientific research.” Sen. Grassley has been active on drug-safety issues and is co-sponsoring a bill that would require drug makers to register their clinical trials in a public database.
...Dr. Blumsohn, and his colleague, Dr. Richard Eastell, received a $250,000 research contract from P&G in 2002 to analyze Actonel's impact on “bone turnover” and its relationship to fractures. Bone turnover is a measure of how quickly old bone tissue is replaced and could be an important marker of the progression of osteoporosis.
Dr. Blumsohn alleges that once he sent his data off to P&G, the company, as per their contract, was required to then share certain data with Dr. Blumsohn in order for him to properly analyze it. Instead, he says, P&G held onto the data and wrote up its own analysis of it, used his name, and submitted it to be presented at various medical meetings. Dr. Blumsohn says he spent months objecting to the data before P&G shared even a portion of it with him, and, even then, it wasn't sufficient for him to do his own analysis.
...“Scientists may disagree about the presentation of data,” Dr. Blumsohn said in an interview. “But there can, however, be no legitimate debate when that data is not available even to the authors.”
Tags: Business, /Pharmaceuticals, /science
