Anthony Almada, B.Sc.03.01.06
Tomb of the Unknown Science: Part I
What would happen if a whistle was placed in the mouth of a seasoned industry scientist?
ByAnthony Almada, B.Sc., M. Sc.
(The following is a fictional account of a television news show.)
Anchorwoman: “In tonight’s issue of SciteLine, we explore the untold depths that lurk beneath the burgeoning natural products industry. When confronted, industry representat-
ives say they have the science, the substantiation, to affirm that their products are indeed safe and effective. And indeed, we did find some science to support this. But what we uncovered in our investigation will shock you as we open the ‘Tomb of the Unknown Science.’ For this story we go to our biomedical science correspondent, Morgan Nobel.”
Morgan: “Thank you Geraldine. Dietary supplements, functional foods, nutraceuticals. It’s a big, multi-billion dollar business, which industry advocates state is rooted in science that supports these products [roll footage of health food store, refrigerator yogurt/
cultured dairy, and physician’s front office shelves, stocked with different health products] being safe and effective. Unlike a prescription drug [roll footage of retail and hospital pharmacy shelves], dietary supplements and ‘functional’ foods and beverages do not require clinical studies demonstrating safety and efficacy on the actual product before or during their being offered for sale.
“Given the dollar volume of this industry and the prevalence of advertising on TV, radio, magazines, and the Internet, all invariably chanting effective and often safe ‘cures’ for what plagues you—from arthritis to ulcers—we wanted to find the science.”
[Change to studio shot with male seated on a chair, backlit…] Unknown Industry Scientist with voice treatment on microphone to alter tonal qualities and protect his identity.
Dr. X: “The nutrition industry is infected by evangelism, with duplicitous CEOs, scientists, ‘poseur scientists and doctors,’ and congenital charlatans. There is that relatively silent minority that strives to align on the white side of the ethical bright line but they are at a palpable disadvantage—cheating and truth stretching is the norm.”
Morgan: “Dr. X, obviously you are fearful of losing your job but you felt compelled to come forth under a shroud of secrecy. You have a PhD in nutritional science from a top 10 U.S. university. You’ve been a co-author on dozens of clinical studies evaluating dietary supplements, functional foods and even a few cosmetics. What have you observed that motivates you to be here?”
Dr. X: “Where can I begin? One of the companies I worked for sponsored a study on one of its products that was already being sold before the study even began. They had a doctor, not an MD, nor a real PhD—the kind with a degree from a recognized academic center—as a stealthily paid spokes-person, talking about how this product could promote weight loss through a new, magical mechanism. This doctor couldn’t pronounce half of the impressive sounding medical words if his life—or honorarium check—depended on it. A few years later a placebo-controlled study gets done—the ONLY one they have—and lo and behold—it’s no better than a placebo. No weight loss and no shred of evidence that it works as promised. What does the company do? In the year that follows the completion of this study—not made public during this interval—they continue to say that it works for weight loss. And then when a study gets published in a bottom tier journal that caters to dietary supplements and natural remedies, they issue a press release and exclude the comment that notable weight loss was not observed. I asked the CEO how he went to sleep at night. His reply? ‘Because we have great testimonials and my wife lost 25 pounds using it. And before you leave tonight please be sure to empty out your desk and bring me your badge and keys—consider yourself a loss of dead weight at this company.’”
Morgan: “You left this company with a bad taste in your mouth but you stayed within the nutritional products industry? How did you sleep at night?”
Dr. X: “I believed that if I was a consultant I could impart more ‘expertise’ but also at arm’s length. And then one of my clients became a company that made a nice business selling a line of products that they claimed to—for anonymity sake—enhance energy, reduce fatigue and boost the immune system. They hired me to help design and oversee an independent clinical trial on their product. But they had
the clinical trial run through their attorney, so all of the results would be subject to attorney-client privilege and thus insulated from disclosure, like a Tupperware seal. The results of this study showed the product to be no better than placebo, failing to support the claims of ongoing marketing—it STILL is being marketed for the same benefits. The attorney got quite defensive when I asked him what they would do now. I chose not to query him about his nocturnal sleep abilities…”NW
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Coming in the May edition of Proprietary Perspectives…In part II, Dr. X reveals a rarely known tool companies use to make bad data look good.