There was an interesting article about Rezulin in Sunday's paper. I'm sure
most of you are familiar with this, but this drug was taken off the market
recently in the United States because of problems with side effects like
liver failure. There is some question about whether the Food and Drug
Administration approved the drug too hastily.
There was one quote in particular that caught my eye. During the approval
process, the company noted that 2.2% of the patients receiving Rezulin had
liver problems compared to 0.6% of the placebo group. The company
characterized these two rates as "comparable".
In defending that characterization, Randall Whitcomb (vice president for
diabetes research) testified as follows:
"'Comparable' is, is, you know, is an interesting word. Is 2.2 percent
different than 0.6 percent? ... I think you could look at 2.2 and 0.6 and
say that those are similar numbers, you know, when you look at this now. I
mean, 'similar' is a -- is a very broad term ... I don't think that these
numbers are, are all that different."
Anyone care to comment on this quote? Are 2.2 and 0.6 percent similar or
comparable numbers in this context?
Steve Simon, [log in to unmask], Standard Disclaimer.
STATS: STeve's Attempt to Teach Statistics. http://www.cmh.edu/stats
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