Tampered Data Cast Shadow on Drug Trial

摘要

In a scandal reverberating across Japan's biomedical research landscape, a university in Kyoto last week acknowledged data manipulation in a university-run clinical trial for a blockbuster hypertension drug, valsar-tan. Japanese media have turned the episode into a cause celebre; the Yomiuri Shimbun, one of Japan's biggest newspapers, labeled it a "serious betrayal" for patients. Repercussions could extend beyond valsartan, marketed under the trade name Diovan by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis. "This incident is causing a loss of confidence in Japan's research internationally and making Japanese patients skeptical [about treatments]," says Yoshiki Yui, a medical doctor at Kyoto University. Health minister Norihisa Tamura has vowed to appoint a committee that would propose measures to prevent a recurrence.