Although I can't say it's what happened in this case, I suspect that the drug companies have a hand in some of the research showing the unexpected benefits of their product. While they do have to be careful about what they claim the drug does in conventional advertising, studies suggesting various benefits for this drug get a lot of attention in the media.
These studies have conflict of interest, funding, etc. disclosures.
If it was Lilly and Novo pushing these, they'd either show up in those disclosures or you're suggesting a massive conspiracy to undermine the medical regulatory system to sell more drugs that they already have struggled to meet demand for for extended periods of time.
Why would they kill a golden goose that shows no signs of stopping it's egg laying?
It's not so much a massive conspiracy as it is the known reality of how these companies operate. There is very little risk as oversight and real accountability are basically non-existent
> Cross-sectional studies across a heterogeneous set of conditions suggest that between 29 and 69 % of published clinical trial reports include disclosures of conflicts of interest. Studies measuring undisclosed conflicts of interest suggest that between 43 and 69 % of study reports and other articles fail to include disclosures of conflicts of interest (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4854425/)
Thanks. I'll admit I'm pretty surprised - my understanding is this sort of thing usually is a much bigger deal when it comes to fucking with things that impact FDA decisions, etc., so them publicly flouting it is pretty crazy to me.
I only provided examples in case there was any doubt that failure to disclose ties to the pharmaceutical industry was a known and large scale problem after the suggestion that it was some kind of conspiracy theory. Skepticism in the case of these drug companies is warranted.
As for the variety of the things I've commented on, I can only blame procrastination and the contents of the front page. I got a lot more work done monday afternoon, I promise.
There's no case to be made for calling these drugs snake oil. They're well-proven to have a host of benefits beyond their specified use. Their promotion by the makers of the drug doesn't change that.
