A physician with a previous financial relationship with GlaxoSmithKline has apparently admitted that he leaked a study critical of Avandia's safety to drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline two weeks before it was published in a major journal. The physician, Dr. Steven Haffner of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, had agreed to read the article as part of The New England Journal of Medicine's peer-review process. Under the NEJM's rules, reviewers are not allowed to disclose the contents of an article to anyone prior to its publication.
Since the disclosure came to light, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has blasted Dr. Haffner in a public statement; the Senator also sent a letter to Glaxo asking the company what action it took after receiving the letter. In an article published in the journal Nature, Dr. Haffner seems to admit to the truth of the accusation, saying: "Why I sent it is a mystery. I don't really understand it. I wasn't feeling well. It was bad judgment." Dr. Haffner has previously disclosed that he conducted research and served as a paid speaker for the drugmaker.
To learn more about the leak:
- read this piece in The New York Times
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