The Illusion of Evidence-Based Medicine
Exposing the crisis in credibility in clinical research by Jon Jureidini and Leemon B. McHenry
This book, written in 2020, details the industry playbook we’ve all become more and more familiar with and which is currently being employed to poison and destroy the lives of millions and to generate $trillions.
The authors were involved in 2 successful legal cases one involving the representation of Study 329 and paroxetine and the other Study CIT-MD-18 and citalopram, anti-depressant drugs with no benefit over placebo and side effects like suicide. With the help of discovery they were able to uncover some fraudulent and heartless yet ubiquitous industry practices, these include:-
Ghostwriting for media by pharma marketing departments.
A positive spin in the abstract sometimes hiding in plain sight damning results in the tables. Even people citing these papers obviously haven’t read them.
The marketing of the vast majority of drugs having barely any statistical significance and no clinically significant benefits whatsoever.
Key opinion leaders and authors not reading the study data they are given by the ghostwriters and ‘astroturfing’ (setting up supposedly grassroots consumer groups to create demand).
Dropping and not publishing negative results and harmful effects.
Unblinded participants included as though they were part of blinded studies.
Disease mongering.
Medicalising normal life.
Direct to consumer advertising creating placebo effects before drug has even been taken.
Regulatory bodies funded by industry and using revolving door of staff between regulation and industry.
Share-holders in regulation and advisory positions.
Industry funded speeding up of regulation that can in no way ensure safety.
Universities being more corporate than corporations.
$billions paid in fines for self confessed misrepresentation and fraud.
$millions paid in compensation for injuries, deaths and suicides and yet, to quote BMJ editor Peter Doshi, ‘No correction, no retraction, no apology, no comment’ from the authors, affiliated universities, manufacturers or regulators.
‘Corrupt Legislation’ by Elihu Vedder 1896.
🐒