Posted by Tomatheus on July 21, 2013, at 22:54:28
In reply to Re: Article: Big pharma fights publication efforts, posted by poser938 on July 21, 2013, at 21:10:33
> Is there a really a good argument for them to keep this information hidden?
There are some arguments for keeping the information hidden, but I think it's questionable (to say the least) how good the arguments are.
Here's a quote from the article:
"Some who oppose full disclosure of data fear that publishing the information could reveal trade secrets, put patient privacy at risk, and be distorted by scientists' own conflicts of interest. While many of the concerns are valid, critics say they can be addressed, and that openness is far more important for patient safety."
So, as stated above, there are certain concerns about publishing all drug study data, but it is said that the valid concerns can be addressed, which would probably make them a non issue. The concerns that making unpublished study data available would put patient privacy at risk are concerns that I think should be taken seriously, but I don't see why any identifying information about patients can't be removed from the studies that are currently hidden. As far as the other concerns go, I don't see how the harm that they might create would outweigh the harm caused by keeping information about drugs hidden. But I suppose I could be missing something.
I tend to think that if the pharmaceutical industry had arguments for keeping the information about the drugs hidden that were truly convincing, then they would have just gone ahead and made the arguments themselves without enlisting patient groups to sort of speak on their behalf. I think that those in the industry who were behind this plan to mobilize patient groups to lobby against the publication of all drug study data were basically trying to create an illusion that someone outside the pharmaceutical industry was concerned about the so-called harm that publishing the data could cause. In reality, if the arguments for keeping the information hidden were so good, then both those in the pharmaceutical industry and those associated with patient groups would have already been making them, and the industry wouldn't have seen the need to potentially persuade patient group into speaking for them.
T.
Conditions:
* chronic fatigue, hypersomnia, and related symptoms
* schizoaffective disordertomatheus.blogspot.com
poster:Tomatheus
thread:1047572
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20130706/msgs/1047595.html