My next thought stems from a recent experience I had involving Dr. Ben Goldacre, author of Bad Pharma.

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Right at the outset of Bad Pharma, Goldacre tells the story of TGN1412.

FORBES: Bad Pharma? Maybe. But Goldacre's Selective Use of Data Is Wrong

Unfortunately, this case is being used for sensationalism and not to advance the cause that Bad Pharma claims to espouse.

FORBES: Bad Pharma? Maybe. But Goldacre's Selective Use of Data Is Wrong

Ben Goldacre is now on a North American tour promoting his book, Bad Pharma, his expose of the pharmaceutical industry.

FORBES: Bad Pharma? Maybe. But Goldacre's Selective Use of Data Is Wrong

However, as pointed out by Dr. Ben Goldacre (Bad Pharma, p 225), no head-to-head comparative trials of statins have ever been done.

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In fact, he spends about one-third of Bad Pharma discussing this topic.

FORBES: Bad Pharma? Maybe. But Goldacre's Selective Use of Data Is Wrong

However, Dr. Goldacre takes a slightly different position a bit later in the book (Bad Pharma, p. 243) in a section where he chastises the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK for wasting money by not using generics.

FORBES: Do We Really Need Head-To-Head Comparison Trials With Statins To Improve Cardiac Health?

It seems as if a lot of bad publicity arrived on the pharma scene as a result of all the DTC ads.

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Big pharma is in a bad fix--and companies are increasingly turning to good cholesterol as the solution.

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The results are so bad that they call into question Big Pharma's ability to come up with a new crop of cholesterol blockbusters.

FORBES: Magazine Article