Pioglitazone and Sitagliptin: An Urgent Call for New Regulations Controlling all the Post Marketing Drug Safety Studies

Abstract

In the past few months, a tornado of “newspapers” articles was reporting the results of some scientific studies claiming to deny any relationship between pioglitazone and urinary bladder carcinoma as well as between sitagliptin and major adverse cardiovascular events. Thorough checking of most of these “independent” studies reveals that their independence is not really full and that some, perhaps many, of the scientists directly involved in these studies have financial connections that may include stocks and shares in the manufacturing companies of these and similar drugs which in my opinion demands new regulations of the post marketing drug safety studies.