Data analysis points to trial bias in journal reports

Medical journal reports on clinical trial results are intended to paint a clear picture of a drug's safety and efficacy. But a research team at UCSF recently concluded from an analysis of the data gathered in 164 trials that developers often skew their results, purposefully highlighting the positive when describing trial results--or omitting unfavorable information.

"We found really important information from the official trial reports that were either not published at all or that stressed mostly the positive results of trials in the published versions," Kristin Rising told the San Francisco Chronicle. And that leaves an inaccurate impression in the minds of physicians who later prescribe these drugs. 

It all amounts to "bias, spin and misreporting" by the industry, says Mayo Clinic physician An-Wen Chan. But Ken Johnson, senior vice president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, says that a doctor gets all the information they need on a drug from detailed product labels.

- read the article in the San Francisco Chronicle

Related Articles:
Publishing negative data is harder than it seems
Study finds clinical trials lack full disclosure
Positive data more likely to find its way to public
Could full data disclosure avert scandal?