The ''Australasian Journal of Bone & Joint Medicine'' (originally titled the ''Australasian Journal of Musculoskeletal Medicine'') was a periodical presented in the style of a

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, published by

Elsevier Elsevier () is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as ''The Lancet'', ''Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, '' Trends'', th ...

but established and funded by pharmaceutical company

Merck Merck refers primarily to the German Merck family and three companies founded by the family, including: * the Merck Group, a German chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences company founded in 1668 ** Merck Serono (known as EMD Serono in the Unite ...

. Publication began in 2002, and the last issue appeared in 2005. According to '' The Scientist'': The publication was not included in the

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literature database and did not have its own website. In May 2009, Elsevier admitted that a series of similar industry sponsored publications had been produced, and that "high standards for disclosure were not followed in this instance". In a formal statement, the CEO of Elsevier's Health Sciences Division, Michael Hansen, admitted that the practice was "unacceptable", and expressed regret for the publications. Merck has denied claims that articles within it were

ghost written A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

by Merck and has stated that the articles were all

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ed from

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. Several medical experts stated that their names were included in the Honorary Editorial Board of the ''Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine'' without their knowledge and consent. There were six such "industry-sponsored" publications brought out by Elsevier without proper disclosure of their nature, and which had the superficial appearance of a legitimate independent journal. The six publications involved were: * ''Australasian Journal of General Practice'' * ''Australasian Journal of Neurology'' * ''Australasian Journal of Cardiology'' * ''Australasian Journal of Clinical Pharmacy'' * ''Australasian Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine'' * ''Australasian Journal of Bone & Joint Medicine''

References

External links

Volume 2 (2003), Issue 1

Volume 2 (2003), Issue 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine Ethics of science and technology Elsevier academic journals Publications established in 2002 Publications disestablished in 2005 Orthopedics journals English-language journals 2002 establishments in Australia

See also

References

External links