Last week, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors against Novartis Pharma K.K., the Japanese subsidiary of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, alleging the firm made exaggerated advertising claims for its blockbuster blood pressure drug Diovan.
The ministry alleges the firm played a part in tampering with data from clinical studies led by doctors at five medical universities to make the drug appear far more effective in preventing strokes and heart attacks than other hypertension drugs.
The ministry's complaint, the first of its kind against a pharmaceutical company, has shed light on the dodgy standards of clinical studies in Japan, as well as the murky ties between scientists and the pharmaceutical firms that sponsor their research.