Paxil lawsuit uncovers allegations of company-written medical articles

Studies confirming a new antidepressant's safety and efficacy may allay the concerns of users, but the journal articles denying Paxil side effects were not written by the doctors listed as authors, according to reports.

GlaxoSmithKline employed a team of consultants who worked with sales representatives to create new literature combatting concerns about Paxil defects in a program known as CASPPER, according to the Associated Press. The sales representatives would offer to help physicians and psychiatrists write up their positive experiences, and the consultants would then create whatever material the doctors needed.

"We know that GSK has engaged in ghostwriting for many years," said Dr Leemon McHenry, a research consultant for the plaintiff in the Paxil lawsuit. "But to create an internal ghostwriting program and have the gall to name it after a cartoon ghost demonstrates their juvenile attitude and careless disregard for patients."

Ghostwriting has come under fire from legislators who think that it creates a false sense of propriety surrounding reports of Paxil side effects, and some companies have agreed to stop the practice pursuant to settlement agreements, recently noted the Wall Street Journal.