J&J Backed Child Psychiatry Institute to Support Risperdal Sales
Posted by Scott Hensley - November 24, 2008, 2:31 pm
blogs.wsj.com
There are several links in the original web page's text, identified by "click here". Jason
Harvard child psychiatrist Joseph Biederman and and his ties to the drug industry are back in the news today.
The New York Times and the Journal are reporting that documents released as part of litigation show that Johnson & Johnson, maker of antipsychotic Risperdal, provided financial support for a research institute for pediatric psychopathology that Biederman wanted funded. Click here for a J&J email describing discussions about the instituteand here for a breakdown of J&J’s goals and budget to support work on Risperdal for children and adolescents.
Biederman, an advocate for antipsychotic medication for children, has received at least $1.6 million in consulting fees from drugmakers in recent years and has taken fire for failing to properly disclose the full extent of the industry’s support.
The Times cites documents that say a goal of the institute at Massachusetts General Hospital, a Harvard teaching hospital, was “to move forward the commercial goals of J&J.” A spokesman for Harvard said the institute is not affiliated with the school.
Emails among officials of the Janssen unit of J&J raise issues of whether the company promoted unapproved use of the medicine, which the FDA didn’t OK for use in kids until 2006, the WSJ reports. A Janssen spokeswoman declined comment on the emails.
Risperdal’s use in children has been controversial. Critics, including doctors, have argued that it has produced too many side effects. The New Jersey lawsuit in which the emails surfaced includes claims from Risperdal users who say they were harmed by the drug, whose chemical name is risperidone. |
