Journals influenced by advertisers

[Guest guest]

This shouldn't be news to anyone, but it's nice to see it getting

more coverage ..,.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20147-2004Feb6.html?referer=email

Business, Science Clash at Medical Journal

By Shankar Vedantam

Washington Post Staff Writer

Saturday, February 7, 2004; Page A02

An analysis critical of the growing use of an expensive medicine used for

dialysis patients was turned down by the most widely circulated medical journal

in the field after its marketing department objected, according to an e-mail

from the journal's editor to the article's author.

Three senior scientists had reviewed the analysis and approved it for

publication, ph Herman, executive editor of Dialysis & Transplantation,

wrote to author Dennis Cotter, president of a nonprofit health research group in

Bethesda.

" Unfortunately, I have been overruled by our marketing department with regard to

publishing the editorial, " Herman added. " As you accurately surmised, the

publication of your editorial would, in fact, not be accepted in some quarters .

.. . and apparently went beyond what our marketing department is willing to

accommodate. "

Cotter questioned whether patients benefited from increased doses of Epogen,

which increases levels of red blood cells in patients with kidney problems. The

federal government is considering whether to provide Medicare patients with

higher doses of such treatments, which could cost hundreds of millions of

additional tax dollars.