New England Journal, Conflict of Interest and Amgen
Quite a battle has broken out over the decision of the NEJM not to publish an editorial by Robert Steinbrook MD which is highly critical of the ways in which Amgen's Epoetin is prescribed in the U.S. There are no agreed upon maximum levels for hemoglobin and it appears as if Epo is being over prescribed at bigger than necessary doses by the for-profit dialysis industry. Steinbrook's editorial was published in the Lancet. Questions also have arisen about why the Journal chose to have Julie Ingelfinger write an editorial to substitute for Steinbrook's when she has close ties to the NKF--an organization that receives a significant percentage of its funding from Amgen.
It is still very clear that the management of conflicts of interest
for universities, journals, academic health centers and even
bioethics centers remains conflicted with no consensus on mimimal
rules or about what constitutes a conflict. The academic and
journal communities would be well-served in the coming year to
convene a blue-ribbon panel to write a report on COI that might serve
as the starting point for addressing the complex questions involved.
- Arthur Caplan
Labels: Amgen, Conflict of Interest, Epoetin, New England Journal of Medicine
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This is yet another example of the greed of evil global biotech companies (like the one I work for, which will remain unnamed). If they truly had the best interest of their customers, they would better moderate the use of their product.
(for comments on this issue, please visit my blog at angrylabrat.blogspot.com)
- by Angry Lab Rat on Dec 30, 2006 at 3:26 AM | link