Merck Created Phony Peer-Review Medical Journal

Hugh Pickens writes "Don't believe everything you read on the internet is a good rule to follow, but it turns out that you can't even believe a 'peer reviewed scientific journal' as details emerge that drug manufacturer Merck created a phony, but real sounding, peer-review journal titled the 'Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine' to publish data favorable to its products. 'What's sad is that I'm sure many a primary care physician was given literature from Merck that said, "As published in Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine, Fosamax outperforms all other medications...."' writes Summer Johnson in a post on the website of the American Journal of Bioethics. One Australian rheumatologist named Peter Brooks who served as an 'honorary advisory board' to the journal didn't receive a single paper for peer-review in his entire time on the board, but it didn't bother him because he apparently knew the journal did not receive original submissions of research. All this is probably not too surprising in light of Merck's difficulties with Vioxx, the once $2.5 billion a year drug that was pulled from the market in September 2004, after a study showed it doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke in long-term users resulting in payments by Merck of $4.85 billion to settle personal injury claims from former users, but it bears repeating that 'if physicians would not lend their names or pens to these efforts, and publishers would not offer their presses, these publications could not exist.'"

Comments

ahahaha

[benjamindees]

[citation needed]

And now an entire generation of idiots believe everything they read in such "authoritative sources" and distrust everything else.

Re:Misleading or Deceptive Conduct

[retchdog]

They took money to publish, discreetly, something which appeared to be peer-reviewed research but wasn't (including steps to avoid academicians even noticing, such as not creating web/electronic access). It's corruption plain and simple. How the hell can you possibly think there's nothing morally wrong with this? You're either a troll, shill, or moron. There are no other possibilities, which one is it?

Re:Forgive my language

[jcr]

And to effect this "redistribution" (actually, what you're talking about is plunder), you would erect a government with the power to take wealth forcibly from some group of people and give it to some other group of people.

Make government that powerful, and watch what happens.

Government is the ultimate monopoly.

-jcr