In an attempt to maximize patent profits, a zeal for devising derivative "copycat" or "me too" drugs instead of truly novel medications has come to dominate the medical-research landscape. The processes of medical research and publication have been distorted by the corporate agenda as pharmaceutical companies instruct researchers to withhold damaging data from studies and hire ghostwriters to package their marketing messages as scientific studies. With their eye on the bottom line, pharmaceutical companies even fund and oversee studies whose goal is to directly increase sales rather than to generate reliable scientific data. … Back to Article