The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7475 p463
27 October 2007

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Funding source of clinical studies affects authors' interpretation of results

The funding source of clinical studies affects authors' interpretation of results, an analysis of 504 studies examining the effects of inhaled corticosteroids suggests (Archives of Internal Medicine 2007:167:2047).

Manufacturer-funded trials are less likely to identify adverse effects of inhaled cortico-steroids than studies without pharmaceutical company funding, a finding partly explained by differences in trial design.

In addition, authors of manufacturer-funded trials are less likely to conclude that statistically significant adverse effects are clinically important than authors of non-pharmaceutical-funded studies, researchers found.