IJE Advance Access originally published online on January 9, 2008
International Journal of Epidemiology 2008 37(1):53-55; doi:10.1093/ije/dym264
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Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association © The Author 2008; all rights reserved.
Commentary: Epidemiology and the pharmaceutical industry: an inside perspective
Pharmacovigilance, Genzyme Corporation, For the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Pharmocovigilance and Epidemiology Group, 675 W Kendall Street, Cambridge MA 02142, USA.
E-mail: joanna.haas@genzyme.com
Accepted 25 July 2007
| The first 10% of the full text of this article appears below. |
Neil Pearce's impassioned comments on Corporate Influences on Epidemiology1 are designed to raise awareness of industry activities that he believes are major threats to the integrity of the field, and its survival as a scientific discipline. He argues that for every independent epidemiologist studying the side effects of medicines there are several other epidemiologists hired by industry to attack the research and debunk it as "junk science". While we recognize his depth of feeling, passion may nurture bias of its own. The relationship between science and industry is complex, and the role of epidemiologists in the pharmaceutical industry is not limited to debunking junk science. Balanced evaluation and discussion are necessary to provide accurate safety information to physicians and patients. Unfortunately, such temperate interchanges rarely make headlines and seldom sell books.2
According to Dr Pearce, the tobacco industry, the pharmaceutical industry and all the
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