You just heard that a new study has come out with promising results on a potential breakthrough new cancer treatment.

The majority of people, scientists included, will accept that study at face value simply because it has been rubber stamped by having successfully passed through the peer review process.

But, just what is the peer review process and how is its corruption threatening to take down science?

Join me as I shed light on yet another staggering problem within scientific research today.

Always try to stand on the shoulders of greats, not rewrite them.

The logical place to begin would be with a few questions. What is peer review, why do we need it and what is wrong with it?

As I was starting to write this article and do some research, I realized quickly that in no way can I address this topic better than the work done by Richard Smith, the former editor of the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Richard has written extensively on this topic and in a very clear manner.  

So after some contemplation I decided rather than re-writing what he has already done so well I would simply try to stand on his shoulders and add my perspective to his excellent body of work.

Subsequently, if you want to get some background on the topic of peer review I would highly suggest reading some of his writings on the topic.

And a piece that I would strongly recommend starting with is, “Peer review: a flawed process at the heart of science and journals”.

To give you a little flavor, I will share the opening paragraph below:

“Peer review is at the heart of the processes of not just medical journals but of all of science. It is the method by which grants are allocated, papers published, academics promoted, and Nobel prizes are won. Yet it is hard to define. It has until recently been unstudied. And its defects are easier to identify than its attributes. Yet it shows no sign of going away. Famously, it is compared with democracy: a system full of problems but the least worst we have.” (Smith, 2006)

If you want to take a detour and read that article, I won’t be offended but, please come back and finish this one too because now I’m going to share my perspective and you don’t want to miss it.

The pharma companies own the journals. What could possibly go wrong?

Yes, you read that right.  One of the more surprising issues that I’ve observed over my career as a scientist has to deal with who owns or funds most of the journals themselves.

And you’ll never guess who.

Ok, you probably did guess it but, in case you didn’t I’ll tell you anyway.

It’s big pharma!

Talk about the mother of all conflicts of interest, right?

Unfortunately, it turns out that many journals are nothing more than mouthpieces for the big pharma and biotech companies.

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