Fake Journals

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Tue, 2009-05-19 12:12

Fake Journals

An article was published by The Scientist this week entitled "Elsevier published 6 fake journals"

In a nutshell Scientific publishing giant Elsevier put out a total of six publications between 2000 and 2005 that were sponsored by unnamed pharmaceutical companies and looked like peer reviewed medical journals, but did not disclose sponsorship.

The allegations involve the Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine, a publication paid for by pharmaceutical company Merck that amounted to a compendium of reprinted scientific articles and one-source reviews, most of which presented data favorable to Merck's products.

As some of you know I'm a supporter and defender of the pharmaceutical companies and think they are sometimes unfairly demonised, but this revelation is absolutely shocking and I find the conduct of my old company (Elsevier) apalling. I understand that newspapers or commentary or advertising can be biased - if I read a commentary or advert for a drug or other product that I am interested in purchasing,
I will always refer back to the primary research for efficacy studies etc.(and don't have too much sympathy for people who don't). But when the platform of primary peer reviewed research is in danger of corruption, all truth and knowledge is at stake!

Tue, 2009-05-19 14:30

Mangone

That's interesting J! http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/5973 I also seems that a former researcher at Harvard, a Dr Robert Fogel, who admitted faking data in a federal funded research study has gone on on to be director of clinical research for Merck Research Laboratories at its respiratory and allergy division in New Jersey. Very kind of Merck, to be so understanding ;o) Reading Merck's entry on Tamiflu I notice that there have been reports of patients having side effects which include hallucination, delirium, and abnormal behaviour ... in some cases leading to fatalities. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/lexicomp/oseltamivir.html Mind you, 'flu does that anyway.

Tue, 2009-05-19 14:29

poetjude

No, I think Tamiflu is a Roche product and Relenza is GlaxoSmithKline. I am more angry with Elsevier than Merck for allowing the integrity of their academic research to be compromised in this way. Their statement says something like, 'Gosh we're sorry, this shouldn't have happened and we won't do it again' but it would take a lot more than that to restore my confidence. jude

Tue, 2009-05-19 14:38

Mangone

Oops, sorry Jude. Yes I was just correcting my misunderstanding when you must have posted and it's altered the order. I had already discovered that in Japan, which has far and away the biggest exposure to Tamiflu that some children had developed unusually high resistances to the drug. It seems that some also started self-harming, which I expect is what the previous entry means by 'abnormal behaviour'.

Tue, 2009-05-19 14:53

maddan

Saw this in Ben Goldacre's (excellent) column the other week. It's pretty low. Not sure about your lack of sympathy with people who don't read the primary research. Personally I wouldn't feel I had adequate knowledge to properly assess a drugs study. Besides, isn't that what doctors are supposed to be for.

Tue, 2009-05-19 15:13

poetjude

Although I personally always check my doctors' treatment recommendation against the primary research (I am the worst patient imaginable!), you're right when it comes to drugs ( although it's NICE rather than individual doctors who consider efficacy, safety and value for money before approving a drug). In this case the journals were launched in Oz where doctors have more of a say in treatment options. My belief in people checking things out for themselves are more in the arena of dietary supplements, nootropics or teeth whitening, that is things that are not obtained by prescription. jude

Tue, 2009-05-19 15:30

Mangone

I don't know if you or Dan have seen the series A Very Peculiar Practice, J, but I feel that it must be time for another rerun. The episode where Bob Buzzard is giving as many people as possible a new drug which he is being 'encouraged' to prescribe is priceless. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/cinema/features/peculiar.shtml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Very_Peculiar_Practice

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