A pharma company perhaps has a med awaiting approval. Criteria for approval is minimal. Two studies are needed to prove the pending med is better than a placebo. And this pharma company can do several studies until these two studies are obtained.

Now it gets worse, because pharma clinical trials are indeed marketing tools:

This company, after thier med is approved, will continue to create trials. Yes create them. Hire researchers and control every aspect of any trial they wish, which allows them to embellish such factors as efficacy. So then these fabrications are complete. Next step for this pharma company is to approach a medical journal. Negotiations begin. The journal agrees to publish this trial which, by the way, was written likely by a ghostwriter, and the name of an author placed on this trial that had absolutely nothing to do with the trial, but still placed his name on this trial because he was paid to do so. The journal, through dialogue with the pharma company, does in fact publish the trial with the agreement that the pharma company will purchase thousands of copies of the trial from the journal called reprints that the pharma company will distribute to it’s sales reps. Also, the pharma will agree to pay the journal to advertise its products within it, which is why half of the contents of a medical journal are product plugs.

You know, I use to really value science.