But Healy argues that much of the evidence found in 'evidence-based medicine' comes from clinical trials paid for by drug companies that are designed to show small yet statistically significant benefits of their medicines without demonstrating whether they actually benefit patients.

Modern physicians believe good medicine comes from evidence produced by clinical trials that pit budding blockbuster drugs against placebos. He could have written an entire book on this alone. Healy argues convincingly that doctors are as vulnerable to product branding as everyone else, offering reassurance against a background of clinical complexity. Healy shows the critical role branding played in the development of blockbuster drugs such as the top-selling anti-ulcer drug Zantac, the marketing of which to doctors was buttressed by everything from free pens to cash to attending medical conferences. Making drugs available by prescription only made doctors the key targets of industry marketing efforts. But he adds that Zyprexa continues to earn Lilly billions per year.

He says Eli Lilly has settled over $2-billion worth of claims that Zyprexa raises cholesterol and causes diabetes. Healy says there was no basis to conclude Zyprexa was any more effective than other products on the market quite the opposite. Healy says the company got it by citing a study of dogs that pitted Zyprexa against another drug that was never even marketed. To make the drug commercially viable, its maker, Eli Lilly, needed a new patent, which meant demonstrating some novel benefit not found with other antipsychotics. Zyprexa is an antipsychotic drug that was supposed to be more effective than other available drugs, with fewer side effects. Healy cites a number of egregious examples. Instead, Healy says, now it's only about the patent and the resulting opportunity to create a new blockbuster. Patents were supposed to be given out for new drugs that provided a clear public benefit.

His long-held view that SSRI antidepressants such as Prozac and others increase the risk of suicide famously cost Healy a job as clinical director of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health back in 2000. That, plus making pharmaceuticals available by prescription only, gave drug companies near-monopolies on their products, setting the stage for blockbuster drugs like the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor and the antidepressant Prozac. Following the Second World War, lawmakers around the world gave the drug industry increased patent protection for its products.

David healy pharmageddon