Regulators should have all the data on a drug's effects but they often don't share it, so researchers can't study the data. Unless, that is, the company doesn't like the result of the trial (maybe it shows the drug not working or having severe side-effects), in which case this result might be hidden. New drugs are tested by the companies that make them, often in trials designed to make the drug look good, which are then written up and published in medical journals. Goldacre sets out clearly what is wrong with the way drugs get on to the market. His tales of drug companies buying the opinion of doctors is not the most alarming of his revelations. What keeps you turning its pages is the accessibility of Goldacre's writing (only slightly flabby in places), his genuine, indignant passion, his careful gathering of evidence and his use of stories, some of them personal, which bring the book to life. Bad Pharma is altogether more sombre and grim – a thorough piece of investigative medical journalism. Goldacre's previous book Bad Science is an easier read, since exposing charlatans can, at times, be played for laughs.
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