In what seems to be a deceptive maneuver to many in both the medical and the publishing fields, Merck acknowledged that it has been known to hire outside professional writers to develop research-related documents that eventually get published under the name of reputable leaders in the medical community.
Critics are expressing doubt about the validity of the research and about the actual involvement of the scientists listed as authors of the papers. One especially galling example is that of the paper being developed as solid academic research but the lead writer is listed as “External author.”
Dr. Joseph S. Ross, of New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine, came across the apparently ghostwritten research studies while reviewing documents related to lawsuits filed against Merck.
An editorial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) puts forth the question of whether Merck might have deliberately manipulated dozens of seemingly academic published documents in order to promote Vioxx under false pretenses.