Wednesday 21 November 2007

Senate Report Alleges GSK Intimidation Over Avandia Concerns

I have a couple of stories, which are doing the rounds, just now. The first concerns the ongoing saga of GSK's smearing/intimidation of John Buse, apropos the Avandia business (is "scandal" too strong a word?):

Senate Report Alleges GSK Intimidation Over Avandia Claims

Perhaps it's worth quoting a couple of little snippets from this Report:

The effect of silencing this criticism is, in our opinion, extremely serious. At a July 30, 2007, safety panel on Avandia, FDA scientists presented an analysis estimating that Avandia caused approximately 83,000 excess heart attacks since coming on the market. Had GSK considered Avandia’s increased cardiovascular risk more seriously when the issue was first raised in 1999 by Dr. Buse, instead of trying to smother an independent medical opinion, some of these heart attacks may have been avoided.

And then:

Even more troubling, documents reveal that plans to silence Dr. Buse involved discussions by executives at the highest levels of GSK, including then and current CEO Jean-Pierre Garnier. Also, GSK prepared and required Dr. Buse to sign a letter claiming that he was no longer worried about cardiovascular risks associated with Avandia.

And so on, and so on, and so on...

"Improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer"

Matt

Related Link:
Seroxat Sufferers

2 comments:

Aubrey Blumsohn said...

There are the bullies and there are the bystanders. The former require the latter and visa versa.

From a less corrupt Keller:

Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all - the apathy of human beings.
-Helen Keller

Radagast said...

Yes, our old mate, Juvenal, said something similar, didn't he? What was it "in time, a society of sheep begets a government of wolves," or something?

Matt