Last week the following systematic review and meta-analysis was published in the Lancet:
This publication was headline news and led to a lot of wider discussion.
The Science Media Centre states that it is an “independent press office that is not linked to specific institutional interests”. I was therefore most interested to read what the expert reaction was to this Lancet publication on antidepressant prescribing:
Prof Glyn Lewis, Prof Carmine Pariante, Prof Anthony Cleare, Prof Allan Young, Prof David Taylor and Dr James Warner all gave their expert opinions and all declared their competing interests. However it is impossible, from the declarations given here, to determine the potential scale of competing financial interests.
Three of the above experts feature in material gathered on Key Opinion Leaders and their partnership working with the pharmaceutical industry [Sunshine Act for Scotland]
In summary: It is impossible to reliably and objectively ascertain the scale of influence that the commercial sector may have on any of the individual experts giving their "reactions" through the Science Media Centre. The Science Media Centre carries this strapline on every page: "where science meets the headlines"
One Reply to “Science Media Centre”