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wayfarer_0's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
tombomp's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good, does exactly what it says on the tin and is written in a pretty informal and entertaining style that makes it a breeze to read. I don't know enough about the subject to comment on stuff he's missed out or anything like that. Would say he's way too optimistic about stuff like transparency as a cure all and doesn't see how much these problems are baked into a capitalist pharmaceutical industry but ah well can't expect everything. I appreciate his suggestions about how to change things - even though they're obviously limited it's at least a start and could inspire people to do good things. More books should have stuff like that. Enjoyable interesting and also horrifying book.
gabe_reads's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.5
The chapters are:
- Missing data
- Where do new drugs come from?
- Bad regulators
- Bad trials
- Bigger, simpler trials
- Marketing
A lot of this book is frankly shocking. I'm especially disappointed by the behaviour of the EMA, given I'd have expected the Europeans to be good at this sort of thing. And it really does give a strong message of how unethical and evil drug companies can be. But also how twisted all the other players in this game can act, making the problem worse.
I think the prose is very well done. He writes in an engaging, conversational style that really takes you along for the journey. I think the use of solid examples is really good as well. It gives you a basis to understand the overall message. I feel I learnt a lot about statins too lol.
I like how he has a lot of focus on possible solutions, though some are probably quite unrealistic in the real world. I learnt a lot about how bad the regulatory process is, which I was unaware of before. And about how little research is done on finding out which drug is the best, especially once they've both been approved. I thought the big trials he was involved with that involve a tiny amount of effort from doctors, looks very promising. Hopefully more of that will happen in the future.
lauriemisha's review
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
5.0
As someone who has studied medical science - I loved this book.
I enjoyed Bens style of writing and despite being a very serious topic it was entertaining and often amusing to read. At times this book was slow but I was so invested that it was never hard to read.
Worth having a copy of the book for all the useful resources/ sources/ lessons to refer back to!
I enjoyed Bens style of writing and despite being a very serious topic it was entertaining and often amusing to read. At times this book was slow but I was so invested that it was never hard to read.
Worth having a copy of the book for all the useful resources/ sources/ lessons to refer back to!
snoakes7001's review against another edition
5.0
This is fascinating and appalling in equal measure. We blithely assume our doctors are doing the best for us and yet they are actively and routinely misled by the pharmaceutical industry. But you can't blame big business for this - these large companies are doing what they were made for - creating wealth for their shareholders. It is our fault for naively assuming that they will act like benevolent Victorian philanthropists and will have our best interests at heart. Without proper regulation, governance, monitoring and transparency it is no wonder these international companies spend more on marketing as they do on research and development of new and innovative treatments. And it's not just the pharmaceutical industry that falls foul of this - while we continue to sell off our public services to the highest bidder, we can expect no better.
So in many respects this is a depressing albeit eye-opening read. I am lucky enough not to have any illness requiring me to take drugs on a regular basis, but if ever I do, I will be asking my doctor some serious questions.
Fortunately I read the kindle version of this which includes a final chapter updating the story from a year after the book's first publication. It's a heartening read - progress is being made and one of the industry leaders has signed up to making more data on its drug testing freely available.
Thank heaven for people like Ben Goldacre who care enough to research issues like this and more importantly make change happen (rather than just read about it and get cross like me!).
So in many respects this is a depressing albeit eye-opening read. I am lucky enough not to have any illness requiring me to take drugs on a regular basis, but if ever I do, I will be asking my doctor some serious questions.
Fortunately I read the kindle version of this which includes a final chapter updating the story from a year after the book's first publication. It's a heartening read - progress is being made and one of the industry leaders has signed up to making more data on its drug testing freely available.
Thank heaven for people like Ben Goldacre who care enough to research issues like this and more importantly make change happen (rather than just read about it and get cross like me!).