ReviewAnnals of internal medicine2006
Narrative review: the promotion of gabapentin: an analysis of internal industry documents.
Review in Annals of internal medicine, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 88 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
88 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 329 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gabapentin and pregabalin to treat aggressivity in dementia: a systematic review and illustrative case report.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2019Pooled it
- Industry sponsorship and research outcome.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- The role of case reports in evidence-based practice, with suggestions for improving their reporting.Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · 2009Pooled it
- A portrait of commissioned literature: connecting the dots between medical education and communication companies, authors, funders and publishers.Research integrity and peer review · 2026Article
- Lest a Smoky Haze of Doubt Suffocate Progress toward Better Pulse Oximeters.Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2025Article
- Are Gabapentinoids Effective at Reducing Pain and Improving Sleep After Nerve Injury? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Clinical orthopaedics and related research · 2025Article
- "I never thought of it as payment": Qualitative evaluation of workshops with advanced practice registered nurses on pharmaceutical industry payment reporting.Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners · 2025Article
- Where do UK clinicians find information at the point of care? A pragmatic, exploratory study.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Industry influences on science and policy: identifying levers for independence.Tobacco control · 2024Article
- Quantifying Industry Spending on Promotional Events Using Open Payments Data.JAMA health forum · 2024Article
- Characteristics of Advanced Practice Nurses Receiving Top Industry Payments and Their Practice Settings: a Cross-sectional Study.Journal of general internal medicine · 2024Article
- What did the scientific literature learn from internal company documents in the pharmaceutical industry? A scoping review.Cochrane evidence synthesis and methods · 2023Review
- Gabapentin-Friend or foe?Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain · 2023Review
- How the Suboxone Education Programme presented as a solution to risks in the Canadian opioid crisis: a critical discourse analysis.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Evaluations of Continuing Health Provider Education Focused on Opioid Prescribing: A Scoping Review.Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges · 2022Article
- Risky business? Pharmaceutical industry sponsorship of health consumer groups.Australian prescriber · 2021Article
- A comparison of educational events for physicians and nurses in Australia sponsored by opioid manufacturers.PloS one · 2021Article
- Opioids and Gabapentinoids Utilisation and Their Related-Mortality Trends in the United Kingdom Primary Care Setting, 2010-2019: A Cross-National, Population-Based Comparison Study.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Article
- Safety of Gabapentin Prescribed for Any Indication in a Large Clinical Cohort of 571,718 US Veterans with and without Alcohol Use Disorder.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2020Article
- Conflicts of interest and Scientific Societies.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2020Review
28 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundInternal documents from the pharmaceutical industry provide a unique window for understanding the structure and methods of pharmaceutical promotion. Such documents have become available through litigation concerning the promotion of gabapentin (Neurontin, Pfizer, Inc., New York, New York) for off-label uses. PURPOSE: To describe how gabapentin was promoted, focusing on the use of medical education, research, and publication. DATA SOURCES: Court documents available to the public from United States ex. rel David Franklin vs. Pfizer, Inc., and Parke-Davis, Division of Warner-Lambert Company, mostly from 1994-1998. DATA EXTRACTION: All documents were reviewed by 1 author, with selected review by coauthors. Marketing strategies and tactics were identified by using an iterative process of review, discussion, and re-review of selected documents. DATA SYNTHESIS: The promotion of gabapentin was a comprehensive and multifaceted process. Advisory boards, consultants meetings, and accredited continuing medical education events organized by third-party vendors were used to deliver promotional messages. These tactics were augmented by the recruitment of local champions and engagement of thought leaders, who could be used to communicate favorable messages about gabapentin to their physician colleagues. Research and scholarship were also used for marketing by encouraging "key customers" to participate in research, using a large study to advance promotional themes and build market share, paying medical communication companies to develop and publish articles about gabapentin for the medical literature, and planning to suppress unfavorable study results. LIMITATIONS: Most available documents were submitted by the plaintiff and may not represent a complete picture of marketing practices.
conclusionActivities traditionally considered independent of promotional intent, including continuing medical education and research, were extensively used to promote gabapentin. New strategies are needed to ensure a clear separation between scientific and commercial activity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.