Sunday, August 16, 2009
Wyeth, which made billions of dollars from its hormone replacement drugs Premarin and Prempro, financed numerous scientific papers published in professional journals that promoted the benefits of the drug therapies. Ghostwriters hired by the pharmaceutical company helped produce as many as 26 articles published from 1998 to 2005 in 18 medical journals, including the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the International Journal of Cardiology.
The orchestrated campaigns to convince doctors and patients of the benefits of Premarin and Prempro were extremely successful until a federal study in 2002 found that menopausal women who took certain hormones had an increased risk of invasive breast cancer, heart disease and stroke. Another study found that hormones increased the risk of dementia in older patients. Premarin is made from the urine of pregnant mares.
Wyeth faces more than 8,000 lawsuits from women claiming the hormone drugs caused them to develop illnesses.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Medical Papers by Ghostwriters Pushed Therapy (by Natasha Singer, New York Times)
Federal Court Grants Public Access to Evidence that Drug Company 'Ghostwrote' Medical Articles About Deadly Hormone Therapy Drug (Public Justice)
Drug Maker Said to Pay Ghostwriters for Journal Articles (by Duff Wilson, New York Times)
Premarin Awareness Campaign (United Animal Nations)
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