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Companies Skew Drug Studies, Rotary Told

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 October 2005, 00:00 CDT

By Morgan Kelly

Even doctors fall prey to the commercial influence of drug firms, affecting what medicines and to whom they prescribe, a doctor and author told the Charleston Rotary Club Friday.

With the majority of drug research funded by drug companies, doctors often see the results favoring the sponsoring company's product rather than the true results, said Dr. John Abramson, author of "Overdosed America."

Commercial-funded studies are five times as likely to favor the sponsor's drug, he said.

As an example, he cited the recent debacle over Vioxx, a pain medicine produced by Merck that turned out to increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. The company presented its own data to the federal Food and Drug Administration, minus information showing that traditional pain drugs like naproxen, found in Aleve, were far less deadly, he said.

"Our medical knowledge is drawing toward drug companies like a plant toward sunlight," he said. That's why people will be given heart medicine that in clinical trials is no more effective than exercising, eating right and not smoking, he said.

Abramson suggests making doctors and patients more aware of the hidden information, but also penalizing companies like Merck that skew figures, he said.

Of course, drug firms should not be expected to volunteer the data, he said.

"Drug companies are very honest about what their goals are," he said. "Their job - their principal responsibility and moral responsibility - is to maximize the return to their shareholders."

Commercial-funded research began in the 1980s when the administration of President Ronald Reagan slashed funding to the National Institutes of Health as part of the effort to shrink government, he said.

As a result, the NIH could no longer fund costly research trials. Drug companies were more than happy to step in, he said.

Information lay at the root of reducing the cost of health care in the United States, Abramson explained. Patients and doctors will scrutinize drugs and services more, rejecting those that are expensive and ineffective.

American health care is at great cost with little benefit, he said. "It's true we have the greatest health care in the world," he said. "If you have a medical situation where the best treatment is the most expensive, this is the place to be."

Among citizens of the 22 richest nations in the world, Americans pay by far the most for health care ($5,000 per person), but have the lowest life expectancy (around 70), according to Abramson. Switzerland has the next highest cost at $3,000 per person.

Japan has the highest life expectancy and a below average individual cost, Abramson's chart showed.

Furthermore, as Americans spend more on health care - particular in Medicaid funding - the quality of the services actually decreases, he said. In the richest nation in the world, 45 million people are without health insurance and 18,000 die each year of untreated illnesses, he said.

"In essence, we have a 9/11 tragedy every two months because we don't insure all Americans," he noted.

Health care in America will reach the breaking point when employees, too saddled with health costs, start demanding information on the procedures and drugs prescribed to them, Abramson said.

Earlier Friday, Abramson gave the keynote address at the fall meeting of the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices, held at the state Capitol. The multistate group focuses on making drugs more affordable.

Abramson said states like West Virginia can combat drug costs by joining with other states to focus on their common goal: medicating their citizens affordably.

"[Drug companies] win if there's a divide and conquer," he explained. "People ask, 'What can little West Virginia do?' Little West Virginia plays a great part by hosting this meeting."

To contact staff writer Morgan Kelly, use e-mail or call 348- 1254.

Source: Charleston Gazette, The

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