Autoria fantasma: reproduzido sem comentário do blogue do The Wall Street Journal

Odd Ghostwriting Offer Raises Researcher’s Blood Pressure Posted by Jacob Goldstein (blogueiro do The Walt Street Journal; a figura foi adicionada por mim) Cornell researcher Jean E. Sealey was a bit surprised — and eventually outraged — by an email she received on Nov. 12 from an employee of Medicus International, a London-based consultant that helps drug companies publish research on their drugs. The email asked whether Sealey would be interested in authoring an abstract article for an upcoming meeting of the American Society of Hypertension. The article would discuss research on nebivolol, a high blood pressure drug from Forest Laboratories, and the “effects of nebivolol in men versus women.” Sealey, professor emerita of physiology and biophysics in medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College, is a well-known expert in hypertension. But she was being asked to author a report on research she hadn’t conducted. In fact, she had never heard of the drug until receiving the email pitch. To Sealey, it appears the company was shopping for a name to slap on the cover of internal drug company research. “I was totally perplexed,” she says. “I surmised they wanted a name and maybe a woman because they were going to compare the drug in men versus women.” The email indicates the abstract would have to be submitted by Nov. 19 — just a week later. But the email assured Sealey that she wouldn’t have to do much work. “We can draft the abstract, offer our editorial support in developing the content of the abstract and help with the submission process on your behalf,” wrote Liz Burtally, who identifies herself in the email as a medical writer “for the nebivolol team working with Forest Laboratories.” Burtally sent another email on Nov. 13, and called Sealey the next day. Sealey asked a lot of questions. Would she be the only author? Yes, she says she was told. When Sealey asked if she would have access to the raw data, the phone went dead. Burtally never called or emailed again. The Health Blog called Burtally, who says she didn’t hang up on Sealey, but confirmed the call was cut off. She said Forest Labs had recommended Sealey for the authorship. Asked if it was common to ask someone to author an article on research they hadn’t conducted, she said “no, not really.” When told it appeared the company was offering to ghost write the abstract for Sealey, Burtally said she wasn’t sure what to call the proposed arrangement. She did say Forest wasn’t going to go forward with the planned abstract. A Forest spokesman said the abstract idea pitched to Sealey was for a sub analysis of data from already published studies. Under that circumstance, he said, the offer met guidelines established by the international association of medical journal articles. The Food and Drug Administration, meanwhile, is expected to make a decision by the end of the month on an application from Forest to sell nebivolol in the U.S