The Placebo Effect Plagues the Pharma Industry

Wired magazine (via Neatorama) recently ran an interesting article with a surprising title: “Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why.”

“Despite historic levels of industry investment in R&D, the US Food and Drug Administration approved only 19 first-of-their-kind remedies in 2007 — the fewest since 1983 — and just 24 in 2008,” writes Steve Silberman. “Half of all drugs that fail in late-stage trials drop out of the pipeline due to their inability to beat sugar pills.”

If a drug cannot beat a sugar pill when it comes to providing relief, it won’t go on the market.

From 2001 to 2006, the percentage of new products cut from development after Phase II clinical trials, when the pharmaceuticals are first tested against placebo, rose by 20 percent. The failure rate in more extensive Phase III trials increased by 11 percent, mainly due to surprisingly poor showings against placebo.

Teasing out the true effects of a pharmaceutical from the brain’s own healing mechanisms, triggered by a belief in the efficacy of an ersatz medication, is a real challenge. In the meantime there are fewer new pharmaceuticals available to ailing patients and more financial woes for the beleaguered pharma industry.