Former New England Journal of Medicine Editor Discusses Views on Pharmaceutical Industry

The Los Angeles Times on Monday profiled Marcia Angell, the former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, which "under her watch" published "editorials harshly critical of the pharmaceutical industry and the way drugs are tested and approved in the United States." In an interview with the Times, Angell discussed her views on prescription drug pricing and her belief that many drugs are not as effective as pharmaceutical companies contend in their marketing materials. Contrary to the pharmaceutical industry's claims, she said, drug companies spend only a small portion of their sales revenue on research and development and a much larger portion on marketing of new drugs that offer little benefit over existing drugs. Moreover, she said, clinical trials testing new drugs are "biased in favor of the drugs and drug makers," and "[c]onflicts of interest [among researchers] are rampant," Angell said that the "single most important change that should be made -- and it could be made tomorrow -- is for Congress to redefine what safe and effective means, to insist that FDA require manufacturers to test new drugs not just against placebos but against existing drugs."

Angell also said FDA should become more independent by removing the financial ties of some advisory committee members to the drug industry. At the same time, university medical centers and medical societies should "stop fooling themselves into thinking they can take huge sums of money from drug makers and still remain objective and independent," she said (Jaret, Los Angeles Times, 8/9).