Media Sometimes Expresses Wrong Idea About New Drugs, Op-Ed Says

Main Category: IT / Internet / E-mail
Also Included In: Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry
Article Date: 28 Nov 2007 - 7:00 PST

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"When it comes to describing the benefits and risks of prescription drugs, the hyper-competitive, around-the-clock media is rarely at its best," Sidney Taurel, chair and CEO of Eli Lilly, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. Taurel examines the media's response to suspension of a Lilly clinical trial for prasugrel, a potential treatment for heart attack patients, as a "case study in the challenge of doing right by doctors and patients -- in spite of the need to feed the media beast with copy."

After the company suspended the clinical trial TRITON, the "speculation that followed these reports was that the drug must have failed its initial trials," which "was unfounded and, incidentally, false," Taurel writes. Lilly was prevented from publicly explaining the suspension of the trial pending the release of findings in the New England Journal of Medicine and at a meeting of the American Heart Association. As a result, the company stock "began its trip south and, more seriously, some doctors and patients were left with false impressions," according to Taurel.

Taurel writes that there "are a few lessons here that need to be learned," adding, "For the pharmaceutical industry: Preserving the integrity of scientific data and protecting the safety of patients are always the right choices." He also writes, "For the media, if I may be so bold: Don't trade in leaks and rumors where scientific data are concerned" because "[d]amage to public understanding is hard to repair after it's been done." He continues, "And for would-be pundits: If you have not had firsthand exposure to the scientific results or specialized knowledge under discussion, then qualify your comments if you must make them at all." Taurel concludes, "We all have a stake in taming this beast -- not for the sake of any company or individual discovery, but for the sake of those who ultimately rely on accurate information for the care of patients" (Taurel, Wall Street Journal, 11/27).

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