We've all seen the ads – some credible, relatable person talking about how this drug saved/changed his/her life. And for most of us, we recognize these testimonials as being advertising bought and paid for by the drug company selling that drug.
But what may not be quite as transparent is when the drug companies
conduct their own research on their own drugs, pay a well known medical
professional to attach his or her name to the research and then get the
research published in a respected medical journal - with no mention
that the drug company was behind it. This is apparently a common
practice among drug companies.
Dr. Jerome Kassirer, editor of the New England Journal of Medicine from 1991 to 1999, said companies that draft research articles on their own drugs "necessarily bias the article in favor of their products, which may or may not be the best product for the patients."
…
Kassirer said the practice of hiring consulting firms to write a first draft of review articles - which pull together studies on a drug - is particularly dangerous. That's because the firm can cherry-pick studies that reflect favorably on the drug and leave out ones that don't. An author who writes the final draft may be unaware of the omissions, he said.
Here is the link to the JAMA article
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