Sen. Charles Grassley’s investigation of whether Wyeth hired ghostwriters to pen articles for medical journals has prompted a major medical publisher, Elsevier, to look into the matter itself.
Elsevier publishes the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in which an “Editor’s Choice” article in May 2003 discussed the Women’s Health Initiative, a major study that was halted when researchers saw a higher risk for breast cancer among women taking Wyeth’s hormone-replacement therapy Prempro.
“Although recent results from the continuous combined therapy arm of the Women’s Health Initiative trial showed a small increase in the risk of invasive breast cancer in women on therapy for 5 years or more, a clear consensus regarding the relationship between [hormone replacement therapy] and breast cancer risk cannot yet be drawn from existing data,” says the article’s abstract.
The article’s author was listed as John Eden of the University of New South Wales, but Grassley (R., Iowa) indicates that Wyeth hired a company called DesignWrite to work on the piece behind the scenes.
Elsevier, which also publishes the well-regarded medical journal Lancet, told the New York Times that Grassley’s charges “are a significant concern” and added, “as with any charge of misconduct or inappropriate publishing acts, The Journal has launched its own investigation into the claims of ghostwriting and undisclosed financial support.”
In an email to the Times last week, Eden said he couldn’t comment because of the Senate investigation and ongoing lawsuits around the issue. In a statement Friday, Wyeth told the Times that the academic authors were not paid by the company and had “substantive editorial control” of the articles. |
