Studies Funded by Drug Companies Favor Drugs 80 Percent of the Time

Studies published in psychiatric journals are increasingly funded by drug companies, and the results of these studies often favor drugs. In 1992, only 25 percent of published studies were funded by drug companies, however, in 2002 this amount had risen to 57 percent.
Researchers from the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City examined four journals: American Journal of Psychiatry, Archives of General Psychiatry, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry and Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. They found drugs were favored in roughly:

• Eight out of 10 studies funded by the company that makes the drug.
• Five out of 10 studies not funded by industry.
• Three out of 10 studies conducted by competitors of the drug's maker.

The researchers pointed out that, since increasing numbers of studies are funded by drug companies, journals may be reluctant to publish studies with negative or inconclusive findings.
Further, while a database was set up by the pharmaceutical industry in October 2004 to report study results, both negative and positive, posting negative study results is completely voluntary.