Doctors and the drug industry

doi:10.1136/bmj.39444.472708.47

BMJ 2008;336 (5 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.39444.472708.47

Editor's Choice

Doctors and the drug industry

Fiona Godlee, editor

fgodlee@bmj.com

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The Royal College of Physicians is looking at relations betweendoctors and the drug industry and wants to hear from you (doi:10.1136/bmj.39428.617431.DB). In case you need them, here aresome pointers from this week’s BMJ.

Firstly, should we fear for the integrity of medical researchbecause clinical trials are overwhelmingly funded by industry?Yes, says Paulo Bruzzi (doi 10.1136/bmj.39416.559942.BE). Industrydesigns trials mainly to get new drugs registered as soon aspossible, preferably with an unrestricted indication. The besttrials for this—in large unselected populations—oftenleave key questions unanswered and, because of ethical constraintson subsequent trials, unanswerable.

Bruzzi is only slightly reassured by evidence from Louise Berendtand colleagues (doi: 10.1136/bmj.39401.470648.BE) that independenttrials have survived the imposition of rules for good clinicalpractice. He says the medical research community must rethinkthe terms of cooperation with industry: "Our health systemsrisk bankruptcy for . . . [Full text of this article]

Add to CiteULike CiteULike Add to Complore Complore Add to Connotea Connotea Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us Add to Digg Digg Add to Reddit Reddit Add to StumbleUpon StumbleUpon Add to Technorati Technorati What's this?

Relevant Articles

Why so many open windows?: Barrie Smith
BMJ 2008 336: 1454. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Next to cleanliness: Fiona Godlee
BMJ 2008 336: 0. [Extract] [Full Text]

Royal college sets up working party to improve relations between doctors and drug industry: Annabel Ferriman
BMJ 2008 336: 14. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Doctor takes "march of shame" to atone for drug company payments: Jeanne Lenzer and Shannon Brownlee
BMJ 2008 336: 20-21. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Effect of European Clinical Trials Directive on academic drug trials in Denmark: retrospective study of applications to the Danish Medicines Agency 1993-2006: Louise Berendt, Cecilia Håkansson, Karin Friis Bach, Kim Dalhoff, Per Buch Andreasen, Lene Grejs Petersen, Elin Andersen, and Henrik Enghusen Poulsen
BMJ 2008 336: 33-35. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Non-drug industry funded research: Paolo Bruzzi
BMJ 2008 336: 1-2. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

Amarasinghe, A. A W (2008). Sophisticated misguidance. BMJ 336: 110-110 [Full text]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Physicians in Australia: Mary Osborn
bmj.com, 4 Jan 2008 [Full text]
So free we seem, so fettered fast we are!: BM Hegde
bmj.com, 7 Jan 2008 [Full text]
So why publicly fund?: John P heptonstall
bmj.com, 7 Jan 2008 [Full text]
Sophisticated misguiders: Amarasinghe A.W. Amarasinghe
bmj.com, 4 Jan 2008 [Full text]
Dichotomy of attitude to research reporting in the BMJ: Alison Rodgers, et al.
bmj.com, 9 Jan 2008 [Full text]
Pot calls kettle black - or quack: Ed Cooper
bmj.com, 11 Jan 2008 [Full text]
Regulations in the UK are stricter than the US: Heather Simmonds
bmj.com, 16 Jan 2008 [Full text]
Blame game of Doctors and Drug Industry: Will there be an end?: Dharmagadda Sreedhar, et al.
bmj.com, 17 Jan 2008 [Full text]
Re: Regulations in the UK are stricter than the US: John Stone
bmj.com, 18 Jan 2008 [Full text]
Academic leadership and the drug industry: Andrzej Gorski
bmj.com, 23 Jan 2008 [Full text]