Big Pharma researcher fakes study

Reports pertaining to what could be the largest research fraud in medical history are beginning to surface today. In fact, according to mainstream media reports, a former member of Pfizer's speakers' bureau has agreed to plead guilty to faking literally hundreds of research studies published in medical journals in 2005.

The scandal relates to Dr. Scott Reuben who reportedly accepted a massive grant of $75,000 from Pfizer to study the drug Celebrex in 2005. While his research was initially published in a medical journal, it has since been quoted by hundreds of other doctors and researchers as "proof" that Celebrex helped reduce pain during post-surgical recovery.

However, evidence now suggests that Reuben never actually enrolled any patients in the survey and, according to reports, faked the entire study instead. What's more, it is believed that this data wasn't the first faked study by Reuben, with additional evidence from the Wall Street Journal suggesting he also faked study data on Bextra and Vioxx drugs.

Retraction

As a result of the faked studies, the peer-reviewed medical journal Anesthesia & Analgesia was forced to retract 10 "scientific" papers authored by Reuben. In addition, The Day of London reports that 21 articles written by Dr. Reuben that appear in medical journals have apparently been fabricated, too, and must be retracted.

Dr. Reuben, meanwhile, is reported to have now signed a plea agreement that will require him to return $420,000 that he received from drug companies. He also faces up to a 10-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine.

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