I used to be a Clinical Investigator - I ran studies for my medical group. We were recruited for a study of a new weight loss drug - back in the late 90s. The drug targeted a receptor which had never been blocked before. Over the next 6 months we saw our patients per protocol and I thought it was fairly easy to tell the people not on placebo. Then one of my patients committed suicide. Turns out the Company knew that people on the drug were showing signs of Clinical Depression at a high rate, but and several had committed suicide. The Company had kept a lid on these Serious Adverse Events. A lot of drugs from that era either had to be withdrawn from the market or have black boxes placed at the top of their prescribing information - Vioxx, Propulsid, Bextra, Avelox are prominent examples. The relentless pursuit of profits is just too strong a motivator. We need a whole new paradigm for testing and approving new drugs - a non-profit one.
I used to be a Clinical Investigator - I ran studies for my medical group. We were recruited for a study of a new weight loss drug - back in the late 90s. The drug targeted a receptor which had never been blocked before. Over the next 6 months we saw our patients per protocol and I thought it was fairly easy to tell the people not on placebo. Then one of my patients committed suicide. Turns out the Company knew that people on the drug were showing signs of Clinical Depression at a high rate, but and several had committed suicide. The Company had kept a lid on these Serious Adverse Events. A lot of drugs from that era either had to be withdrawn from the market or have black boxes placed at the top of their prescribing information - Vioxx, Propulsid, Bextra, Avelox are prominent examples. The relentless pursuit of profits is just too strong a motivator. We need a whole new paradigm for testing and approving new drugs - a non-profit one.
Oh Jesus this is so freaking wrong