The Times Fails To Disclose Conflict Of Interest In Interview On SSRIs And Suicide

Yesterday I noted that Sanjay Gupta, a psychiatrist at the University of Buffalo, fibbed when he claimed there was no proof of a link between suicides and suicidality and anti-depressants, specifically Prozac. Not only was his claim incorrect, but as it now turns out Gupta has received honoraria and other funding from Eli Lilly in the past. This was not noted in his interview which recently ran in the New York Times.

Here's a disclosure from a paper Gupta authored in 2001:

"Dr. Gupta is a consultant for Eli Lilly; has received research/grant support from Eli Lilly, Janssen, and Abbott; has received honoraria from Eli Lilly, Janssen, Forest, and Pfizer; and is on the speaker or advisory boards of Eli Lilly, Janssen, and Forest."

Today, I sent the paper a letter to the editor and pointed out this inexcusable discrepancy. It will be interesting to see if the paper of record decides to print my letter and correct the web version of its interview with Gupta. I know the paper has written quite aggressively about conflicts of interest that some psych researchers have, so I find it odd that this one evaded the paper's foolproof radar.

I'll let you know when I know.

Many thanks to CL Psych for the tip.