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Drug Money May Influence Doctors' Decisions

Posting Date: 06/19/2000

Any good detective knows that if you want to solve a mystery you need to follow the money. Recent articles in the New England Journal of Medicine suggest that reporting on drug advances requires the same strategy.

Pharmaceutical companies pay for most of the research done on drugs. Billions of dollars are devoted to the development of new medications. But plenty of money is also spent wooing doctors with lavish meals, gifts, travel to exotic locales or even family outings at the zoo posing as continuing education.

Many key investigators also serve as well-paid members of advisory boards or speakers' bureaus. Some own stock in the companies with which they are affiliated, although this may violate ethical guidelines for academic scientists.

Dr. Marcia Angell, editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, recently stated that "researchers with ties to drug companies are indeed more likely to report results that are favorable to the products of those companies than researchers without such ties." She suggests that bias can be subtle and the prospect of future funding may influence an investigator's judgement.

Most doctors would like to believe that they are objective, impartial professionals whose opinion is not swayed by money or prestige. They strive to practice "evidence-based medicine," making treatment decisions only on the results of scientific investigations.

But there is growing concern that physicians may not always be able to trust the information they read. Drug companies have been known to discourage publication of unfavorable findings or try to spin conclusions to enhance the appeal of a new drug. This makes it harder for clinicians to assess the benefits and risks of the medicines they prescribe.

Consumers are also vulnerable to enthusiastic news reports. A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine was written by an Australian journalist who studied U.S. media stories on drugs.