The News Review:

- KARACHI: Research centre for Persian planned
- Tuskegee Syphilis Study’s impact debated Blacks still distrust…
- Inside Medicine: Depression drugs and withheld data

KARACHI: Research centre for Persian planned
Pakistan Dawn – Mar 16, 2008
He described and discussed the contents of a typical protocol. Sheikh Ansar talked about the regulatory approval process and allocations (out of central research fund) for any research proposal that was accepted. A range of clinical research industry specific topics were shared such as to how drugs come into the market place understanding the basic need for GCP ethics Pharmacovigilance and responsibilities of investigators and sponsors. Dr Howard Sussman and Dr Lawrence Faulkner also joined in via teleconference.

Tuskegee Syphilis Study’s impact debated Blacks still distrust…
San Francisco Chronicle – Mar 16, 2008
“The thing we were surprised about was that African Americans were two times or 200 percent more likely to perceive a chance of harm from participating in medical research” Powe said. “That perception of harm accounted for why they were less willing to participate in a trial. Powe said the study provided several possible remedies including an increase in the number of minority physicians involved in clinical research studies. Some 12 percent of the U. population is black but only 4 percent are physicians. He said health care providers need to do a better job at building trust with patients.

Inside Medicine: Depression drugs and withheld data
Sacramento Bee – Mar 16, 2008
Even so what the team found was yet another example of a company owning drug information and hiding it from the public to protect corporate profits. In such cases patients suffer because they are offered medical care that may be inappropriate at best and dangerous at worst. Last year Congress passed a law requiring that all clinical research be made available to the public. However as a result of heavy pressure from the pharmaceutical industry the law was watered down and now doesn’t go far enough to protect the public. It doesn’t require the release of data from studies already completed and it allows data to be withheld for two years – the very time when doctors most need access to data about a new drug. Further the effectiveness of the law depends on careful and aggressive enforcement – something that has been in short supply at a weakened U.