Clinical question
Do industry-sponsored drug and device studies have more favourable outcomes and differ in risk of bias compared with studies having other sources of sponsorship?
Bottom line
Studies sponsored by the manufacturing company had more favourable efficacy results and conclusions than those sponsored by other sources. Comparing industry and non industry-sponsored studies, there was no difference in risk of bias from sequence generation, allocation concealment, follow-up and selective outcome reporting, and industry-sponsored studies more often had a low risk of bias from blinding, compared with non industry-sponsored studies.
In industry-sponsored studies, there was less agreement between the results and the conclusions than in non industry-sponsored studies.
Caveat Nineteen papers reported on sponsorship and efficacy effect size, but could not be pooled due to differences in their reporting of data and the results were heterogeneous.
Caveat
Nineteen papers reported on sponsorship and efficacy effect size, but could not be pooled due to differences in their reporting of data and the results were heterogeneous.
Context
Results from clinical studies on drugs and medical devices affect how doctors practice medicine and, thereby, the treatments offered to patients. Clinical research is increasingly sponsored by companies that make these products, either because the companies directly perform the studies, or fully or partially fund them.
Cochrane Systematic Review
Lundh A et al. Industry sponsorship and research outcome. Cochrane Reviews, 2017, Issue 2. Art. No.: DOI: 10.1002/14651858. MR000033.pub3. This review contains 75 papers. This is an update of an earlier 2012 Cochrane Review.
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