NEJM reviewer leaked Avandia study

Written byBob Grant

| 1 min read

Listen with Speechify

0:00

1:00

A reviewer of last year's linkurl:meta-analysis;http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/356/24/2457 of GlaxoSmithKline's diabetes drug, linkurl:Avandia,;http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/53284/ leaked the study to the company prior to its publication in the __New England Journal of Medicine__, according to a linkurl:story;http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080130/full/451509a.html appearing today (Jan. 30) in __Nature__. Last year, Avandia, joined the ranks of blockbuster drugs associated with serious health risks: The meta-analysis published in __NEJM__ showed that the Avandia increased the risk of heart attacks in patients who took it. It turns out that Steven Haffner, a diabetes researcher at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, faxed a copy of the manuscript to GSK more than two weeks prior to its publication in __NEJM__. Haffner admitted to __Nature__ that he leaked the study, but failed to divulge a motive for his actions. "Why I sent it is a mystery," Haffner told the journal. "I don't really understand it. I wasn't feeling well. It was bad judgement." Haffner did tell __Nature__, however, that he has served on a GSK steering committee for a clinical trial of Avandia, that he knew the GSK employee, Alexander Corbit, from working with the company previously, and that he had previously been paid to give talks for GSK. No word yet on whether or not __NEJM__ will ban Haffner from reviewing their manuscripts as they did last year to a reviewer who linkurl:leaked the results;http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/53112/ of a cardiology study only two days before its publication. A statement Emailed to __The Scientist__ from the medical journal said only that __NEJM__ considers the peer-review process to be confidential. "Any breach of ethics by a reviewer would be taken very seriously by the editors, but would be handled as a private matter," the statement read.

Interested in reading more?

The Scientist ARCHIVES

Become a Member of

Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!

Join for free today

Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Bob Grant
From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.
View Full Profile