February 7th 2019 marked a auspicious day in the history of the NEJM and its relationship with the pharmaceutical industry. In 2015, the NEJM shifted their significant weight in support of a strong union between industry and medicine,,
. With the simultaneous publication of four pharmaceutical sponsored trials, each brimming with its own unique form of methodological and statistical tomfoolery, The Journal has made it exquisitely clear this partnership is as cohesive as ever.
The first of these studies, by Stets et al, examined the use of omadacycline, a novel aminomethylcycline antibiotic, for the treatment of community acquired pneumonia (CAP)
. Published alongside an almost identical article examining omadacycline use in soft-tissue infections
, these industry sponsored double-blind, double dummy, randomized non-inferiority trials, purport this new expensive antibiotic as good as the traditional and far more affordable approach.
Given the following excerpt,
“Paratek Pharmaceuticals designed and conducted the trial and prepared the statistical analysis plan. Analyses were performed and data interpreted by Paratek Pharmaceuticals in conjunction with the authors.”
It is fairly evident that this article was not intended to further scientific progress, but rather to sell a shiny new product.
