The Wall Street Journal Health Blog has some “eye-popping” news — a doctor has been caught fabricating 21 drug studies, some of which were favorable to drugs that have since been pulled from the market — Merck’s Vioxx and Pfizer’s Bextra.

Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., has asked several anesthesiology journals to retract the studies, which appeared between 1996 and 2008, the WSJ reports. The hospital says its former chief of acute pain, Scott S. Reuben, faked data used in the studies.

The studies had nice things to say about other drugs as well, including Pfizer’s pain drugs Lyrica, Celebrex and Wyeth’s antidepressant Effexor XR.

When the WSJ called the doctor for comment, his lawyer said that Dr. Reuben “deeply regrets that this happened.”

Pfizer also issued a statement:”It is very disappointing to learn about Dr. Scott Reuben’s alleged actions,” Pfizer said in a statement to WSJ. “When we decided to support Dr. Reuben’s research, he worked for a credible academic medical center and appeared to be a reputable investigator.”

A New Low in Drug Research: 21 Fabricated Studies [WSJ Health Blog]
(Photo:Brooks Elliott)

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