Reliability of the Research Funded by a Drug Company

Often pharmaceutical companies are the first to investigate new drugs. However, this research is commonly biased in favor of the company that sponsored it. Research done by independent third parties is typically more reliable than that done by pharmaceutical companies.

Biased Design

• An investigation published in "British Medical Journal" found that studies funded by pharmaceutical companies were more likely than independent studies to favor the sponsors' products. This is because biased studies usually test the sponsoring company's drug against one that is shown to be ineffective, making it look better by comparison.

Publication Bias

• The medical journal "Lancet" surveyed 487 research projects done by pharmaceutical companies. The investigators found that studies which showed a drug was effective were much more likely to be published than studies showing a drug had no effect. This is problematic because when physicians read studies to decide if they should prescribe a certain medication, they only hear about the studies that favor the drug.

Considerations

• Research done by pharmaceutical companies should be examined carefully to ensure the study was well designed and the drug was compared to a placebo to measure its effect. A double-blind study, where the doctors involved do not know if the people they see are taking the drug or a placebo, is the most reliable type of study. Even if a study published by a pharmaceutical company meets these criteria, there may be studies that show a different result that are not published.