The Scientist‘s blog posted a very interesting article on April 30th.
The Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine has been reported as nothing more than an advertising and marketing tool for Fosamax and Vioxx. The journal was published from 2003-2004 by Exerpta Medica which is a division of Elsevier, resembled a peer-reviewed journal (complete with editorial board) and was paid for by Merck, the maker of both drugs. Nearly all of the advertising contained in the issues was dedicated to the two drugs and the papers published were “throwaways” which had been rejected by peer-reviewed scientific journals.
This surely marked a new low for the medical companies. I am surprised that Elsevier went along with it.