Use of ghostwriters, guest authors appears frequent for studies involving rofecoxib

An examination of medical articles about rofecoxib (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and court documents from litigation related to this product indicates that company employees or other unacknowledged authors were frequently involved in writing clinical trial articles and review articles, but that primary authorship was often attributed to academically affiliated investigators who may have had little to do with the study, or who did not always disclose financial support from the sponsor of the study, according to an article in the April 16 issue of JAMA.