Ghostwriters Used in Vioxx Studies
Category: Vioxx
More Info: Defective Drugs
The drug maker Merck drafted dozens of research studies for its best-selling drug Vioxx, then lined up prestigious doctors to put their names on the reports before publication, according to an article to be published Wednesday in a leading medical journal.
The article, based on documents unearthed in lawsuits over the pain drug Vioxx, provides a rare, detailed look into the industry practice of ghostwriting medical research studies that are then published in academic journals.
The article cited one draft of a Vioxx research study that was still in want of a big-name researcher, identifying the lead writer only as “External author?”
Vioxx was a best-selling drug before Merck pulled it from the market in 2004 over evidence linking it to heart attacks. Last fall the company agreed to a $4.85 billion settlement to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits filed by former Vioxx patients or their families.
The lead author of Wednesday’s article, Dr. Joseph S. Ross of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, said a close look at the Merck documents raised broad questions about the validity of much of the drug industry’s published research, because the ghostwriting practice appears to be widespread.
“It almost calls into question all legitimate research that’s been conducted by the pharmaceutical industry with the academic physician,” Dr. Ross said, whose article, written with colleagues, was published Wednesday in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Assocation.
Continue reading...
See the full, original post here: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/15/business/15cnd-vioxx.html
TriMark Legal Funding was founded in 2003 and is one of America's original legal funding providers. TriMark provides pre-settlement funding and post-settlement funding to injured plaintiffs who are involved in personal injury lawsuits, employment litigation, work injury accidents and workers compensation lawsuits, mass tort litigation, and multidistrict litigation. We also provide post-settlement attorney funding and portfolio funding for law firms.
| Mass Torts Litigation | MDL |
Click here to see the original article.