GlaxoSmithKline denies having withheld the important information and claims that since the drug was only recommended in adults and therefore did not need to indulge information regarding teens. Doctors were prescribing the drug to adolescents who exhibited the same symptoms as adults and were unaware of the risks. This is what led Britain’s move to put in place stricter laws regarding sharing clinical trial results. The new laws will require information regarding all participants tested to be shared and accessible.
This raises many questions concerning the medication people are now taking. Irving Kirsch, a psychology professor in Britain, suggests the possibility that patients could be taking drugs that they do not need or that are not working for them. Professor Kirsch is lead author of a study that found antidepressants are mostly an effective treatment. In fact, it was found that placebos worked just as well as medication in depressed patients.
Antidepressants are not the only questionable drugs on the market. We all remember the Vioxx scare. It was found, and only after years on the market, that this particular drug significantly increased the risk of a heart attack. This is another case to prove that drug companies should be responsible for sharing all information pertaining to their drug.
It was argued that a drug may not be known to be unsafe until millions of people use it because the “rarest and deadliest side effects” may be unknown until it reaches the entire population. Only limited testing is performed on the drugs and because of this some side effects go unknown until it hits the market.
People should be more wary of the drugs they are prescribed and question the clinical data pertaining to their medications. Forcing the pharmaceutical companies to share all information regarding their drug testing is one step closer to protecting the public.
[Source: YahooNews]
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