Clinical trials skewed by drugs industry, say GPS

FOUR in five GPS believe drug trials are skewed by the pharmaceutical industry, amid widespread mistrust in medical research, polling shows.

A survey of more than 1,000 GPS found that 82 per cent thought clinical trials funded by the sector were often biased to produce a positive outcome.

That view was shared by 67 per cent of the public, in a poll of more than 2,000 adults.

The polls are highlighted in a new report by the Academy of Medical Sciences, commissioned by Prof Dame Sally Davies, the country’s chief medical officer, following fierce debate about the risks and benefits of a number of drugs – in particular, statins.

In 2014, NHS watchdogs recommended a lowering of the thresholds for statins, meaning most men over 60 and women over 65 should be offered them.

However, doctors then felt too many pills were being doled out, without enough heed to possible side-effects.

Research then suggested “scaremongering” over the drugs led to a fall in the numbers taking statins, which could result in more than 2,000 more deaths over the next decade.

Professor Sir John Tooke, chairman of the report, said the low level of faith in medical research was “startling”.

“While many factors will affect our decision making, we would like robust evidence from scientific research to play a more important role.

“For this to happen, information from research will need to be more accessible and understandable, as well as reliable and trustworthy in the future,” he said.

The report says patient information leaflets, contained inside pill packets, must be improved so they can be easily read and understood.

It calls for changes in drug labelling, so benefits are labelled along with risks, and not just an “impenetrable” and “unreadable” list of potential harms, authors said.