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Ghostbusters should only bust ghosts

Nature Biotechnology volume 26, pages 1067–1068 (2008)Cite this article

To the Editor:

We are professional medical writers who appreciate the distinctions between ghostwriting and ethical medical writing made in your May editorial1. We welcome the commonsense and balanced approach you put forward in an area that has been generating more heat than light. The article from the April edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)2 about ghost authorship and ghostwriting that you highlighted led to considerable media response and confusion. We wish to discuss ethical medical writing, author accountability and compensation using the clinical trial manuscript as an example. We speak as medical writers only and not on behalf of any company.

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Independent consultant, 26532 Montecito Lane, Mission Viejo, 92691, California, USA

    Lanie M Adamson

  2. Centocor Ortho Biotech Services LLC, 200 Great Valley Parkway, Malvern, 19355, Pennsylvania, USA

    Mary Whitman

  3. Dianthus Medical Ltd., 4 Lyon Road, London, SW19 2RL, UK

    Adam Jacobs

  4. Independent consultant, 412 Stafford Ave., Newark, 19711, Delaware, USA

    Tracy E Bunting-Early

Authors
  1. Lanie M Adamson
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  2. Mary Whitman
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  3. Adam Jacobs
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  4. Tracy E Bunting-Early
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Competing interests

L.M.A. provides professional writing services to industry and has worked in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. A.J. and T.E.B.-E. work for companies that provide professional medical writing services. M.W. works at a pharmaceutical company whose medical writing group develops manuscripts that are based on the research conducted by the company.

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Adamson, L., Whitman, M., Jacobs, A. et al. Ghostbusters should only bust ghosts. Nat Biotechnol 26, 1067–1068 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1008-1067

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