A science journal owned by the Alzheimer’s Association punished a trio of leading researchers after they published a stinging rebuke of Biogen’s controversial treatment aducanumab — a drug that the powerful advocacy group is lobbying regulators to approve.
In late December, the researchers told STAT, the Alzheimer’s & Dementia journal notified them that they had committed an “ethical violation” by tweeting a link to their own deeply skeptical aducanumab paper, which was not yet in its final form. The researchers were placed on a two-year publishing probation, and a letter disclosing the censure was sent to their academic bosses.
How could the “early view” versions of articles posted online on the journal’s website ahead of print publication be considered “embargoed” when the abstracts of such articles are publicly available and the full articles can be purchased and downloaded by anyone. They clearly are NOT embargoed. Many people, including reporters, journal article authors and other interested parties routinely tweet about such online “early view” or “ahead of print” articles.
The problem isn’t with FDA “collaborating” with industry. The problem is with the agency CONSPIRING with industry to circumvent well-accepted scientific standards, hampering innovation and providing false hope. Hydroxychloroquine for Covid anyone? How about some eteplirsen for DMD?
Throwing a leaden life vest to a drowning man, giving false hope, is not an act of compassion, but of cruelty. The FDA has much work to regain the confidence of the public in terms of its scientific objectivity and rigor.