Hide and seek
Drug company records showing deceitful practices released to the public
Last week I told you about the landmark Supreme Court ruling against pre-emption. This legislation would have made it impossible for people who have been harmed by drug side effects to take legal action against pharmaceutical companies. Today, I want to share a recent example I came across that makes it abundantly clear why we should all be relieved that pre-emption got tossed out of court: Unfortunately, suing Big Pharma may be the only way we ever learn the truth about the drugs they’re peddling.
According to an article published recently in The New York Times, one such lawsuit — against pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca — led to the release of over 100 previously “sealed” documents outlining the potential risks of the psychiatric drug Seroquel. The attorneys representing the people suing AstraZeneca claim that these documents offer proof that the drug company willfully covered up evidence that Seroquel increases risk of diabetes and weight gain. But it gets worse…
Some of the documents show an outright attempt by the drug maker to deliberately mislead the public about the safety of the medication. One e-mail from an AstraZeneca official praised the company’s project physician for “minimizing adverse findings in a ‘cursed’ study” and congratulated her on “‘a great smoke-and-mirrors job!’”
Another e-mail message from a different AstraZeneca official noted that “The larger issue is how do we face the outside world when they begin to criticize us for suppressing data.”
Pre-emption would have prevented them from ever needing to do that…so it’s no wonder Big Pharma has been fighting so hard and so long to get this legislation passed. Then they’d be free to cover the earth with “smoke and mirrors.”
The good news is, for now, we can still hold these companies accountable for their dishonest actions. Of course, as I mentioned last week, the pre-emption debate is bound to continue. But let’s hope that the Supreme Court continues to decide in favor of the truth and the health of the public — not in favor of drug company bullet-dodging.
Source:
“Drug maker’s e-mail released to Seroquel lawsuit,” The New York Times (www.nytimes.com), 2/28/09
