Seen a Rogue on the loose? Get in touch with our Roguemeister: JOHN SCHRAG jschrag@wweek.com (503) 243-2122 FAX: (503) 243-1115 It's rare that we travel all the way to the Garden State to hunt down a rogue. But this week's award goes to Knoll Pharmaceutical Co. of Mount Olive, N.J., for bullying scientific researchers and costing consumers--including an unknown number of Oregonians--an estimated $356 million per year. Knoll headed down the road to roguedom in 1995, when it purchased Boots Pharmaceuticals and the rights to Synthroid, a synthetic hormone used by eight million patients to offset low thyroid levels. Boots had been trying to block publication of research conducted by a University of California at San Francisco scientist, which showed that Synthroid was no more effective than generic equivalents that cost half as much. Boots had funded the research but was so displeased by the results that it threatened to sue the researcher and the University of California. So did Knoll. The attorneys general of 37 states--including Oregon's Hardy Myers--sued Knoll for misleading marketing, and last week the companies agreed to settle the states' claims for $41.8 million in exchange for admitting to no wrongdoing. Oregon's $883,000 share will be used to reimburse the Oregon Medical Assistance Program and for consumer-protection education, according to Jan Margosian, the consumer-information coordinator at the attorney general's office. The cash settlement is good for the state, but Margosian says that the AG's office is increasingly concerned about corporate pressure on research aimed at benefiting consumers. Gae Ryan, director of pharmacy at Oregon Health Sciences University, says that the relationship between researchers and corporate funders is often "a delicate dance." Knoll and its parent company, the BASF Group, are still trying to settle class-action lawsuits brought by consumers nationwide over Synthroid. Oregonians interested in learning more about the lawsuits should call (800) 853-4853 or visit www.synthroidclaims.com. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published August 11, 1999