Overview
Recounting the fenoterol epidemic—a major medical controversy that took place more than 15 years ago—this narrative explores the involvement of the asthma drug that caused numerous asthma deaths. Although the epidemic occurred in New Zealand, its shocking discoveries and subsequent consequences attracted worldwide attention in medical journals and conferences. Neil Pearce, the researcher who discovered that fenoteral was the cause of the epidemic, tells this personal story while raising concerns about drug safety internationally and analyzing the battle between money and science in medical research.Reviews
"This is a 'rattling good yarn.' It reads well and tells a very good story that needs to get out to a wider audience." —AUP's academic referee
"The book is timely in the U.S. coming as it does on the heels of the Vioxx episode and in the midst of active discussion about drug safety reform." —Epidemiology MonitorAuthor Biography
Neil Pearce is a professor at Massey University in Wellington, New Zealand, and established the university's Centre for Public Health Research. He has written 14 books on the epidemiology of cancer, asthma, and occupational health.