Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine announced on July 11 that the data used in clinical research on Novartis Pharma K.K.'s blood-pressure drug Diovan were manipulated. It added that the key conclusion based on the research was very likely erroneous but that there is no question that the drug is effective in lowering blood pressure.
Both the university and the drugmaker should clarify what actually happened during the clinical research and who did what.
The research, involving some 3,000 high blood-pressure patients, was started in 2004 to find out which high blood- pressure drugs are effective in preventing cardiovascular diseases such as angina and stroke. It was carried out by a team headed by Professor Hiroaki Matsubara of the university, who resigned in February. The team published seven scientific papers in medical journals in North America, Europe and Japan from 2009 to 2012.