Medscape Medical News
Pharma Company-Sponsored Studies Biased: Metaanalysis
Yael Waknine
Dec 11, 2012
Company-sponsored studies are significantly more likely to paint a rosy picture of their drug or device than independent trials, according to a new Cochrane review published in the December issue of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
Andreas Lundh, MD, from the Nordic Cochrane Centre, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues found that company-sponsored trials were more likely to report favorable efficacy results (risk ratio [RR], 1.24; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14 - 1.35), safety profiles (RR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.54 - 2.27), and conclusions (RR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.20 - 1.44) compared with non?industry sponsored studies.
Although similar findings were previously reported in a review of drug studies alone, many journals continue to publish data without requiring sponsors to disclose their role in the study design, execution, and publication, the authors write...
