Should pharmaceutical companies make their clinical research public? A recent New York Times article discussed this very question. Although many consumers believe that any drug that was approved by the FDA is safe, clinical studies are sometimes manipulated in a rush to get a “blockbuster” drug to market. Researchers and courts have also noted that the FDA is severely understaffed to properly review thousands of pages for thousands of drug applications. Without access to clinical trial data, independent researchers are unable to verify manufacturers’ claims about their drugs. The long list of drugs that have been pulled from the market proves that FDA-approved drugs are not always safe.
As part of the overall process to get new drugs approved and on the market, pharmaceutical companies must undertake a lengthy process of research and data collection to ensure that new drugs are safe and effective.
Currently, pharmaceutical companies do not make public this trove of valuable information. Without seeing the actual research and data used by the pharmaceutical companies, researchers cannot say for sure whether a company’s selective publication and spin is misrepresenting safety or efficacy information. There is growing sentiment to require the pharmaceutical industry to make public the research and data it uses when making claims about the drugs that are sold to the public, and Lopez McHugh is strongly in favor of this push. As prominent doctors have noted, the end result will benefit patients.
The bottom line is that pharmaceutical companies need to be held accountable when they fail to warn about known risks. Lopez McHugh, LLP is investigating injuries relating to the ingestion of prescription drugs and use of medical devices and with each new litigation, we invariably gain access to the unpublished data and find safety information that doctors tell us they would have liked to know.
If you believe you have been injured as a result of a bad drug or a faulty medical devise, contact Lopez McHugh for a free evaluation.
