Drug companies control of clinical studies...

[Guest guest]

I know this may not be news to many of us, but some may find it interesting:

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Medical Schools Don't Mind Drug Company Control of Study Findings

A large number of American medical schools would allow companies that sponsor studies of new drugs and treatments a great deal of control over the results, says a Harvard School of Public Health study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The survey of 107 medical schools found that 50 percent would allow companies that make drugs and medical devices to draft articles to appear in medical journals, and 25 percent of the medical schools would allow the companies to provide the actual study results, the Associated Press reported.

However, the medical schools said they wouldn't tolerate gag orders from the companies meant to prevent researchers from publishing negative study results.

Currently, more than two-thirds of medical research at U.S. universities is funded by private industry.

The results of the study alarmed some medical experts. "This it totally beyond reasonable practice. What you're seeing is a willingness by some institutions to give more leeway than they should," Dr. Harlan Krumholz, a Yale University cardiologist and epidemiologist, told the AP.

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Thanks to http://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=3396973

Tom in Edmonton