How the Pharmaceutical Industry Influences the Production of Scientific Evidence: Research Manipulation and Ghostwriting

This scientific report examines how large pharmaceutical corporations can influence the production and circulation of scientific evidence, focusing on two core mechanisms: (i) the manipulation, selective promotion, and concealment of research and clinical trials; and (ii) ghostwriting in the biomedical literature. Drawing on critical scholarship and empirical evidence mobilized in the author’s research, the report shows how biases may be embedded as early as the methodological design of studies (e.g., the selection of inferior comparators, inappropriate comparator dosages, or the use of placebo) and subsequently extended into the dissemination stage through selective publication and the reduced visibility of unfavorable findings. It then discusses how ghostwriting reshapes scientific authorship by concealing corporate writers and attributing credibility to articles signed by academics with limited involvement in the research and writing, thereby facilitating the uptake of narratives aligned with commercial interests. Case studies involving quetiapine (Seroquel), paroxetine (Paxil), and rofecoxib (Vioxx) illustrate how these mechanisms can shape perceptions of efficacy and safety, influence clinical practice, and generate substantial consequences for collective health. Taken together, these elements support the argument that trust in scientific communication should be treated as a concrete problem – permeated by disputes and interests – and therefore demands greater transparency, accountability, and integrity in evidence production.