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To the Editor: Dr Als-Nielsen and colleagues¹ concluded that trials funded by for-profit organizations are more likely to have positive conclusions due to biased interpretation of trial results. Although Als-Nielsen et al found that trials funded by for-profit organizations more often demonstrate increased differences compared with control groups, they found that such trials are more likely to use placebos as a control, report a higher frequency of adverse effects, reach preplanned numbers of subjects, and be published in high-impact journals.

These results imply that for-profit organizations seem to plan and execute studies more rigorously than do nonprofit organizations. As a consequence, it seems that conclusions drawn from studies run by for-profit organizations are more trustworthy. This could be explained by the extensive guideline system governing for-profit organization trials, including the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) Good Clinical Practice guidelines² and others. Studies performed by for-profit organizations are very often used . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Stig Waldorff, MD
Clinical Research Committee
The Danish Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry
Copenhagen, Denmark

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