An Anonymous Coward writes in with a story on the misuse of a drug based on Bromopyruvic acid:
The drug in question, 3-Bromopyruvate (3BP), has been hailed by some researchers as a potential breakthrough, but so far the only human data about its efficacy and safety are anecdotal. Many scientists say the drug should not be administered to patients except in carefully controlled experimental settings. If the link to the three deaths is confirmed, that could cloud 3BP's commercial prospects.
[...] Media reports suggest that cancer patients often sought Ross's help after they ran out of conventional therapy options, or to avoid aggressive chemotherapy. He offered a 10-week "basic therapy" against cancer for €9900 ($11,057).
On his website, Ross touted 3BP as "currently the best compound to treat tumors."
[...] 3BP has yet to undergo formal clinical trials. PreScience Labs, a U.S. company founded by Geschwind, received approval for a phase I study from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2013. Geschwind says the trial has yet to start because the company needs partners to finance it.
[...] Eugen Brysch, head of the German Foundation for Patient Rights in Dortmund, says that the government should regulate practitioners of alternative medicine more strictly. "Creativity in therapy must not negatively affect patent safety,"
Additional links for the story:
Commentary from Dr. Lowe - http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2016/08/17/3-bromopyruvate-what-a-mess
Lots of extra information from Science-Based Medicine:
(Score: 3, Informative) by butthurt on Friday August 19 2016, @09:21PM
Vioxx/rofecoxib "passed." Was it because adverse effects in a clinical trial took place after the cut-off date of the trial, and were not revealed the scientific community?
https://web.archive.org/web/20051231064738/http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/353/26/2813? [archive.org]
https://web.archive.org/web/20060602223711/http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/354/11/1196 [archive.org]
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5470430 [npr.org]
The FDA estimated that at least 55,000 died from the drug, and it's been suggested by one writer that 500,000 or more may have been killed.
http://www.theweek.co.uk/us/46535/when-half-million-americans-died-and-nobody-noticed [theweek.co.uk]
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/blog/chinese-melamine-and-american-vioxx-a-comparison/%20 [theamericanconservative.com] (non-Cloudflare link: https://archive.is/mrFg5 [archive.is])
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 19 2016, @09:42PM
Vioxx was used as an example of a drug that ended up killing people after it "passed" clinical trials. People found this out and it was removed from the market, so someone had to ask "the question not asked" (as Runaway1956 put it).
There is not a conspiracy of Big Pharma keeping the "best compound to treat tumors" away from patients though undue scrutiny over treatment-related deaths.
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Friday August 19 2016, @11:39PM
Thanks for explaining. When tens of thousands of people die before a problem is detected, it would seem that treatment-related harm was not questioned insistently enough.