Douglas_Knight comments on Scholarship and DIY Science - Less Wrong

18 [deleted] 18 February 2011 06:37AM

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Comment author: Douglas_Knight 18 February 2011 07:34:08PM 0 points [-]

I don't mean to imply that I have a good grasp on the biases, just that they are surprising. The particular effect with patents happened with SSRIs, that they fell apart as their patents expired; I probably imply too much generality.

Drug companies study each others' drugs all the time, because FDA approval of a particular drug requires the claim that it is better, at least for some population. A typical phase 3 study compares the company's own drug, a similar recent drug, and the standard treatment that the two drugs are trying to displace.

Comment author: Khoth 18 February 2011 07:54:29PM *  -1 points [-]

Maybe the bias there is in expecting that the competitor's drug is similar to their own (therefore also good), and that it's newer than the standard treatment (and so more advanced and better).