Safety fears over undisclosed drug study results

PHARMACEUTICAL firms that withhold negative results in drug research could prevent the public from knowing if a drug is truly safe, medical experts have warned.

Published research suggests a type of antidepressant drug is safe for children, but unpublished data indicates that it is not, an article in a leading medical journal claims.

The study by the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health in London, published in The Lancet, looked at previous research on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for children.