Toward the end of the 1990s, hiding the suicide risk on antidepressants by unearthing ghost suicides and suicidal acts from the early washout phase of trials looks like it might have seemed to company and FDA officials as problematic as Macbeth’s invitation to Banquo to make sure he came back to the feast later that evening. A new strategy came to the fore. Again one of the … [Read more...] about Psychotic Doubt
The Bureaucrat That Didn’t Bark
Prozac’s commercial success after its launch in 1987 spurred SmithKline Beecham, Pfizer, and others to bring Paxil (Seroxat, Deroxat, Aropax), Zoloft (Lustral), and other Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to market. En route there was the tricky problem of managing what was recognized within companies by the early 1980s but denied in public, namely, that these … [Read more...] about The Bureaucrat That Didn’t Bark
Drug Companies Use Studies the Way a Drunk Uses a Lamppost
Drug companies use studies the way a drunk uses a lamppost — for support rather than illumination. This quote adapted from English romcom author Jilly Cooper (who adapted it from others before her) seems an appropriate preface for a series of company approaches to data handling that have concealed rather than revealed treatment-induced problems. In another galaxy, far, … [Read more...] about Drug Companies Use Studies the Way a Drunk Uses a Lamppost
Welcome to Data Based Medicine
Adverse drug events are now the fourth leading cause of death in hospitals It’s a reasonable bet they are an even greater cause of death in non-hospital settings where there is no one to monitor things going wrong and no one to intervene to save a life. In mental health for instance drug-induced problems are the leading cause of death — and these deaths happen in community … [Read more...] about Welcome to Data Based Medicine
23-30 January 2012: Toronto
Interviews, meetings, and pre-planning for the launch of my latest book, Pharmageddon. Have had some enquiries about where I might be speaking. Stay tuned for my March schedule -- am back in Toronto, and some other North American cities, and will post another blog with details as I get them. … [Read more...] about 23-30 January 2012: Toronto