I was heartened to hear Dr Kamran Abbassi, acting editor of the BMJ
comment on an inquiry into the influence of the pharmaceutical industry
heard by the health select committee earlier this month – “The BMJ takes
the issues of transparency and accountability very seriously” (BMJ News
23rd October 2004 page 937). Perhaps he could explain how just a week
before his remarks, Pfizer were able to place their advertisement for
celecoxib (the main rival of rofecoxib) on the facing page adjacent to the
BMJ’s editorial article on the withdrawl of rofecoxib (1). Was this a
coincidence or an example of how even the BMJ can be manipulated by the
pharmaceutical industry?
Reference List
(1) Dieppe PA, Ebrahim S, Martin RM, Juni P. Lessons from the
withdrawal of rofecoxib. BMJ 2004; 329(7471):867-868.
Rapid Response:
Is the BMJ influenced by drug companies?
I was heartened to hear Dr Kamran Abbassi, acting editor of the BMJ
comment on an inquiry into the influence of the pharmaceutical industry
heard by the health select committee earlier this month – “The BMJ takes
the issues of transparency and accountability very seriously” (BMJ News
23rd October 2004 page 937). Perhaps he could explain how just a week
before his remarks, Pfizer were able to place their advertisement for
celecoxib (the main rival of rofecoxib) on the facing page adjacent to the
BMJ’s editorial article on the withdrawl of rofecoxib (1). Was this a
coincidence or an example of how even the BMJ can be manipulated by the
pharmaceutical industry?
Reference List
(1) Dieppe PA, Ebrahim S, Martin RM, Juni P. Lessons from the
withdrawal of rofecoxib. BMJ 2004; 329(7471):867-868.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests