Schering-Plough Engages The Blogosphere Re: Whites-Only Trial
Last month, I posted a brief item regarding a study Schering-Plough had initiated for a new hepatitis C drug that excluded self-identified African Americans from the trial. Today, I came across an interesting post on “Open Letters” a blog written by Karama Neal, PhD. In the post, or open letter to Schering-Plough, Neal states:
“I have difficulty understanding why African-American patients are being excluded from this trial, particularly since that is the only ethnic group specifically excluded.”
It turns out that Schering-Plough was monitoring the blogosphere and decided to respond to Neal’s post. Four executives at the company participated in an April conference call where they “addressed [Neal’s] questions, and gave [Neal] a clearer understanding of their rational for this study design.”
Although Neal continues to believe that the Schering-Plough study “misuses the concept of race,” she appreciated the company taking the time to answer her questions.
I’m not surprised that pharma companies are proactively engaging bloggers, as my recent interview with NitroMed on the topic of race and medicine indicates, however, I’m always impressed when they decide to be proactive.
(By the way, if anyone from Schering-Plough is visiting this blog, you might be interested in my ongoing interview series re: race and medicine. Feel free to comment on any of the interviews I’ve published thus far.)
Click here to see Neal’s post re: the Schering-Plough conference call.
