I'm not a medical researcher, but a "talented amateur" who reads a lot....you make a good point about honest studies. Even in normal times, they would be quite rare. The vast majority of (drug) studies are funded by Pharma, done by PI (principal investigator). There are many, many impediments to get an "honest" answer. Probably the most …
I'm not a medical researcher, but a "talented amateur" who reads a lot....you make a good point about honest studies. Even in normal times, they would be quite rare. The vast majority of (drug) studies are funded by Pharma, done by PI (principal investigator). There are many, many impediments to get an "honest" answer. Probably the most potent are money: Pharma spends millions, hoping to make billions. The PIs, the research unit at the university, the private corporation, etc. all depend upon and hope for a future flow of funds from government (NIH) or Pharma. Thus there is an understandable bias to find the "right" answer, that is, the one that makes the payer look good. Of course, outright fraud happens too. Even if all intents were pure, finally there are inevitable limits to what data can be collected, trials run, etc.
I'm not a medical researcher, but a "talented amateur" who reads a lot....you make a good point about honest studies. Even in normal times, they would be quite rare. The vast majority of (drug) studies are funded by Pharma, done by PI (principal investigator). There are many, many impediments to get an "honest" answer. Probably the most potent are money: Pharma spends millions, hoping to make billions. The PIs, the research unit at the university, the private corporation, etc. all depend upon and hope for a future flow of funds from government (NIH) or Pharma. Thus there is an understandable bias to find the "right" answer, that is, the one that makes the payer look good. Of course, outright fraud happens too. Even if all intents were pure, finally there are inevitable limits to what data can be collected, trials run, etc.
Follow the $$$!! Lustig does a great job of exposing all these twisted relationships in his well -researched book Metabolical!