Study Finds Bias in Drug Studies

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http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/10/drug_studies_bias.html

 

Study Finds Bias in Drug Studies

 

October 7, 2006

 

 

Tests and reviews of drugs that are supported by the pharmaceutical

industry should perhaps be read with more than a hint of skepticism.

So advices a new study in the British Medical Journal, which finds

these industry supported reviews are more likely to reach favorable

conclusion on drugs, than independent reviews.

 

According to the authors, bias in drug trials is common and often

favors the trial sponsor's product. To balance this effect,

independent reviews -- which can have a more critical and systematic

approach -- are essential to ensure doctors and other health

professionals have the information they need.

 

The authors, based in Denmark, compared the results of 24 pairs of

reviews conducted by different people on the same drugs.

 

Compared to reviews supported by the pharmaceutical industry, reviews

undertaken by the Cochrane Collaboration -- an independent body --

were of a higher quality and were more likely to address the potential

for bias in the review.

 

Of seven industry-supported reviews, all recommended the experimental

drug without reservation, while none of the corresponding Cochrane

reviews reached the same conclusion.

 

Six of the eight Cochrane reviews analyzed had reservations about the

quality or relevance of the trials or their findings and two of them

noted that the effect decreased with increasing number of patients in

the trial. Seven mentioned higher cost of the experimental drug as a

problem.

 

In contrast, none of the industry-supported reviews mentioned higher

cost as a problem, and two claimed that the experimental drug was

cost-effective.

 

The researchers also found that the reviews with not-for-profit

support or no support had cautious conclusions similar to the Cochrane

reviews.

 

The authors conclude that industry-supported reviews should be read

with caution. They also want greater transparency, including the

inclusion of more information on methodology and the estimated effects

of the drugs, in order to allow readers to judge the reliability of

drug reviews.