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Jennifer Washburn

Jennifer Washburn is a fellow at the Open Society Institute, where she is examining the impact of privatization, and a newly appointed fellow at the New America Foundation.

Recent Articles

Hired Education

Jennifer WashburnJan 14, 2005

M. Michael Wolfe, a gastroenterologist at Boston University, admits he was duped by the Pharmacia Corporation, the manufacturer of the blockbuster arthritis drug Celebrex. (In 2003, the company was purchased by Pfizer.) In the summer of 2000, The Journal of the American Medical Association asked Wolfe to write a review of a study showing that Celebrex was associated with lower rates of stomach and intestinal ulcers and other complications than two older arthritis medications, diclofenac and ibuprofen. Wolfe found the study, tracking 8,000 patients over a six-month period, persuasive, and penned a favorable review, which helped to drive up Celebrex sales.

Studied Interest

Jennifer WashburnJan 07, 2005

M. Michael Wolfe, a gastroenterologist at Boston University, admits he was duped by the Pharmacia Corporation, the manufacturer of the blockbuster arthritis drug Celebrex prior to its purchase by Pfizer in 2003. In the summer of 2000, The Journal of the American Medical Association asked Wolfe to write a review of a study showing that Celebrex was associated with lower rates of stomach and intestinal ulcers and other complications than two older arthritis medications, diclofenac and ibuprofen. Wolfe found the study, tracking 8,000 patients over a six-month period, persuasive, and penned a favorable review, which helped to drive up Celebrex sales.

Undue Influence

Jennifer WashburnDec 19, 2001

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has long been
the target of both industry and ideological forces seeking to scale back
regulation. With a Republican now in the White House, conservatives are once
again sounding the call. On February 2, The Wall Street Journal published
an
editorial railing against the FDA's "costly and archaic system of drug
regulation." Enabling consumers to access the "wonder drugs" of the twenty-first
century, the Journal argued, requires eliminating "the last century's
regulations."