A journal editor received a letter from a pharmaceutical company questioning a large study reported in his journal. The study, carried out in two different countries, involved treatment with a relatively new formulation in a strength of 2%. The pharmaceutical company were concerned because the formulation was only sold in strengths of 5%, and in individual treatment packs sufficient for a single application only, for stability and sterility reasons. The company had not supplied either active or placebo preparation to the author in question. The author refers to his version of the preparation and a placebo in one of his previous publications in which an “analogue” of the drug is mentioned. What is the exact nature of the drug being used in these studies? Is it actually the company’s drug? These concerns bring the whole study into doubt. What should the editor do now?
Ask the authors to explain. It may have been a typographical error in the paper.
The editor wrote to the authors, but has not received a reply. The journal has changed editorship and the new editor could find no evidence of further correspondence to or from the authors. The case has therefore been closed.