Editor's Choice

Gagging for it

BMJ 2009; 339 doi: 10.1136/bmj.b4444 (Published 29 October 2009)
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b4444

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  1. Tony Delamothe, deputy editor, BMJ
  1. tdelamothe{at}bmj.com

    First, the good news on transparency. Drug company Merck is following Eli Lilly’s lead by publishing details of fees paid to experts for speaking on behalf of the company or its products (doi:10.1136/bmj.b4409). GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer have promised to follow suit. If drug companies were also to publish details of grants made to patient groups, along with the raw data from their research studies, then truly we would have entered a golden age.

    The bad news on transparency is that certain NHS trusts’ idea of a golden age is one where tongues can be ripped out and mouths stitched up. Jonathan Gornall documents the …

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