Assessing long-term risk with short-term data

Abstract

Keep on taking the tablets - but for how long? New drugs can be tested for only a short time, but Vioxx and Avandia proved dangerous over the long term, and patients may take such drugs for years. So how can we establish the safety of long-term use?Howard Wainer finds that makers of light bulbs and door hinges can guide us. © 2011 The Royal Statistical Society.