When Science, Marketing, and Investing Collide (at Motley Fool)

As a scientist, I'm all for full disclosure. But as an investor, I'd rather the companies I own do everything they legally can to make as much money as possible. They may take away my Ph.D. for this, but when torn between the two, my pocketbook will usually win. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) had a rough day in the media yesterday, following reports of a looming lawsuit that claims the company held back negative clinical trial data. Let's take a look at the ethical dilemma that Pfizer and the rest of the industry encounters, and how investors can use such situations to get a read on management. The baby with the bathwater Pfizer's problem revolves around clinical trials for its epilepsy drug Neurontin. It allegedly delayed the release, or never published the results, of studies showing that the drug was ineffective at treating several... [read full story]