Senator Grassley takes on ghostwriting for Wyeth and NIH grants

Wyeth, Premarin, NIH (the National Institutes of Health) ghostwritten journals and government grants

Senator Charles Grassley (link to PDF official letter from Grassley to the acting director of the NIH) has been watching government spent money at the NIH and ghostwriting, in particular, researchers who received NIH grant dollars and Wyeth, and the Premarin scandal.

From Grassley's letter, found in The New York Times article, "Senator moves to stop scientific ghostwriting":

"In December, I wrote to DesignWrite and Wyeth to inquire about their policies
and procedures with respect to ghostwriting and the manuscripts that DesignWrite
prepared on hormone therapy products at Wyeth’s request. My inquiries to date have
uncovered troubling information regarding the practice. [Attachment B] In one email,
DesignWrite’s Vice President for Scientific Affairs described the company’s process of ghostwriting for Wyeth..."

AND

"I would also like to bring to NIH’s attention that several researchers who apparently signed onto these ghostwritten publications are researchers who receive NIH grants. These investigators include Dr. Michelle Warren, Professor of Medicine at Columbia
University; Dr. Rogerio Lobo, Professor at Columbia University; Dr. William Cefalu,
Professor at LSU Pennington; Dr. Lisa Shulman Associate Professor at the University of Maryland; and Dr. Lori Mosca, Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University."

Ghostwriting

Senator Grassley asks questions of the NIH (National Institutes of Health)

"Accordingly, I request that NIH respond to the following questions and requests
for information. For each response, please repeat the enumerated request and follow with the appropriate answer.

1) What is the current NIH policy on ghostwriting with regards to NIH
researchers? Please provide a copy of such policy.

2) What is the current NIH policy on ghostwriting with regards to NIH grantee
institutions? Please provide a copy of such policy.

3) What is the current NIH policy on ghostwriting with regards to primary
investigators of NIH grants? Please provide a copy of such policy.

4) Has NIH received any complaints about individual grantee institutions,
primary investigators and/or NIH researchers regarding possible ghostwriting
and if so how has NIH handled these complaints?

5) What is the current NIH policy regarding primary investigators found to have violated medical ethics and/or have medical licenses that have been suspended
or revoked? Please provide a copy of such policy."

(answers due no later than August 25, 2009)
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Researchers lending their names to scientific papers that promoted drug sales for Wyeth's Premarin, while researching with government funding. Not surprising.

Ask yourself again, who do you trust?

Is there no limit to the corruption and unethical behavior attached to so-called scientific research and "peer reviewed journals"? once a medication is approved by the FDA, is it really safe for you to take?

By the time a drug reaches your pill bottle, it has most likely arrived via a tainted political approval process.