Fight the hype

Britain’s biotech firms now have a code of conduct designed to prevent them
from overhyping the progress of experimental drugs. Published this week by the
BioIndustry Association (BIA), the code was drafted in the wake of a damaging
scandal last year
(This Week, 4 July 1998, p 20).
From now on, companies must
have their scientific and clinical progress audited by external experts. Failure
to comply could mean expulsion from the BIA.