Failure to disclose conflicts of interest, substandard peer review and the involvement of some scientists in pharma profiteering weakens the public's trust in legitimate science and creates an environment in which denialism and pseudoscience flourish. We welcome the policy changes that some journals are implementing.
The New York Times reports:
The scientific integrity of medical research has been clouded in recent years by articles that were drafted by drug company-sponsored ghostwriters and then passed off as the work of independent academic authors.
Yet the leading medical journals have continued to rely largely on an honor system of disclosure to detect such potential bias, asking authors to voluntarily report any industry ties or contributors to their manuscripts.
But now, in light of recently released evidence that some drug makers have gone to great lengths to turn scientific articles into marketing vehicles for their products, some influential medical editors are cracking down on industry-financed ghostwriting. And they are getting help from some members of Congress.
These editors are demanding that journals impose tougher disclosure policies for academic authors and that the journals enforce their own rules by actively investigating the provenance of manuscripts and by punishing authors who play down extensive contributions by ghostwriters.
Links:
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/business/18ghost.html