Are Drug Studies Biased when a Drug Company Pays for the Study?

If a pharmaceutical company, or another company that made that drug funds a drug study, are the results biased in favor of the pharmaceutical company? Many people often suspect that this may be the case, or that the results are juggled to make a drug "look good." In a recent press release, researchers detailed the results of their study.

A new research study that has been published by the medical journal, BMJ, online shows that current drug studies are probably not going to be totally biased in favor of a company, but they frequently have drawn conclusions that are overly positive, favoring the company that funded the drug study.

Researchers in the United States set out to investigate whether or not funding for a drug study had a correlation to positive outcomes of that drug. Specifically, the researchers limited this study to a review of drugs for high blood pressure, or hypertension.

The best way to get true information about a drug is by having an impartial study conducted, the researchers concluded. However, this is often more difficult to accomplish than one might think.

The research study found that while data regarding drugs was not incorrect, there appeared to be favorable "spins" about the drugs when reading the conclusions of the drug studies that were analyzed.

It is important to note that nothing that the researchers found showed any type of impropriety on the part of any of the researchers. Indeed, the data collected during the drug studies was correct and true.

As an alternative, researchers suggest that physicians should always seek to know who funded the study when reading drug study results. Also, if the funding came from the pharmaceutical company or manufacturer, physicians should be take that into consideration when interpreting the results of a drug study.

Another option could be to impose legal restrictions on pharmaceutical companies, however few people are likely in favor of this option. It would add another layer of red tape to the process, and there is no guarantee that it would change the outcome of any of the drug studies.

In the past, other studies have shown that when a drug study is financed by the company who manufacturers the drug, the results do tend to show the drug in a positive light.

The researchers of this study call on peer reviewers and editors to take a stance, to review the drug studies that they are publishing to ensure that the conclusion and results show an unbiased interpretation.

Given the choice of having drug studies that are biased in favor of a drug company, or not having adequate drug studies before a medicine is taken to market, the former is likely the better solution to the problem.

Source:
http://www.newswise.com/p/articles/view/535380/