For as much time as I’ve spent thinking about Randomized Clinical Trials in my retirement years, I never gave them a moment’s thought in two different medical careers. I didn’t really have much of an idea how drugs became approved, or how drug patents worked. As odd as that may sound, I expect that was […]
I’ve been preoccupied with another project for a month or so, and looking at my posts, it shows. I’m afraid they’re kind of just newsy as a result. But I’m free of those distractions at last, and looked forward to catching up on the current state of play. So I headed for one of my […]
UK May Require Doctors to Report Their Financial Ties to Drug Makers Pharmalot: WSJ By Ed Silverman Jul 27, 2015 U.K. doctors and public health officials may be required to report any financial ties to drug makers under plans that are being considered by U.K. government officials, The Telegraph reports. The move comes after the […]
There are certain situations in which Free Market Capitalism simply doesn’t work. We’ve long recognized that in how we deal with things like monopolies, insider trading, etc. The Free Market works when it operates on supply/demand and competition dynamics. The way our drug patent laws have evolved, we have literally created a system that generates […]
Psychologist Implicated in APA’s Torture Report Resigns Academic Post The Chronicle of Higher Learning by Tom Bartlett July 21, 2015 A former official at the American Psychological Association who was implicated in the controversy over the organization’s support for torture has resigned as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Alliant International University. […]
Funds Join Campaign to Pressure Pharma to Disclose Trial Data Pharmalot By Ed Silverman 07/22/2015 The investors, which collectively manage about $3.8 trillion, plan to meet with drug makers in which they invest to ensure that trials are registered and results are reported, according to Sile Lane, campaign director at Sense About Science, a non-profit […]
Psychiatry’s Identity Crisis New York Times by Richard A. Friedman Contributing Op-Ed Writer July 17, 2015 AMERICAN psychiatry is facing a quandary: Despite a vast investment in basic neuroscience research and its rich intellectual promise, we have little to show for it on the treatment front. With few exceptions, every major class of current psychotropic […]
If you read the blogs, you’re likely familiar with the Wunderink Clinical Trial [Recovery in Remitted First-Episode Psychosis at 7 Years of Follow-up of an Early Dose Reduction/Discontinuation or Maintenance Treatment Strategy]. It has been reviewed by many including NIMH Director Tom Insel [Antipsychotics: Taking the Long View], MedScape [Antipsychotics in First-Episode Psychosis: Less Is […]
First there was the editorial and a three part series in the New England Journal of Medicine that advocated dropping their ban on authors with conflicts of interest writing editorials or review articles… Revisiting the Commercial–Academic Interface Reconnecting the Dots — Reinterpreting Industry–Physician Relations Understanding Bias — The Case for Careful Study Beyond Moral Outrage […]
In case you’re behind on the APA/Torture story, here are a few catch-up links. Also see Rob Purssey’s comment to the last post [UPDATE: There’s a more readable version here]: C.I.A., on Path to Torture, Chose Haste Over Analysis 15 December 2014 American Psychological Association’s Role in Bush-Era Interrogation Program April 2015 Outside Psychologists Shielded […]