The pharmaceutical industry has been criticized for its profit-powered price structure, a budget buster for people and governments alike. But British physician-activist Ben Goldacre attacks the industry for something even more insidious—a proclivity toward lying about its products and manipulating data to support false claims. The drug tests run by the industry, he asserts, are fundamentally flawed, biased toward the preconceptions and aspirations of the drug companies. Negative results have been withheld, academics on the corporate payroll tout the dubious value of medications and industry-funded scientific panels join the chorus. Goldacre cites many examples of a systemic scheme of deception in which scientists are charlatans, doctors are duped and regulators refuse to regulate.
