Pfizer Accused of Manipulating Neurontin Study Results

Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drug company, either falsified or omitted negative study results in order to earn broader approvals for its epilepsy drug Neurontin, a new study says.

In some cases, Pfizer didn’t followed through on publishing unfavorable results in medical journals, according to a study by Kay Dickersin, a researcher from Johns Hopkins University, which is published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, says a Reuters news report.

In other cases, Pfizer changed the scientific question addressed in the study in order to manipulate the results and make them appear more positive, Dickersin’s study found.

Broader Approvals Based on Fraudulent Results

The manipulated studies were designed to establish Neurontin’s ability to treat conditions other than epilepsy. The studies in question were paid for by Pfizer to show how well Neurontin worked on common medical problems, such as chronic pain and migraines, in an effort to earn FDA approvals for those conditions, Reuters reports.

The allegations of improper conduct at Pfizer provide a shocking glimpse into the unethical lengths to which drug companies will stoop in order to convince the Food and Drug Administration to grant new approvals or give permission for existing drugs to be used to treat more diseases. Don’t think for a second that Pfizer is alone in playing hide the negative results and other tactics. Certainly, other big drug companies do the same thing.

Pfizer dismissed the study’s claims and questioned the study author’s credentials, saying the accusations were “derived from a report created for litigation and coauthored by plaintiffs’ expert witness,” according to Reuters.

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