Weakening the Argument for New Medication

Hard Weaken Undermine Argument

A pharmaceutical company has published a study claiming that their new medication significantly reduces the symptoms of a chronic illness. The company cites data from trials involving 150 patients, which show a 40% improvement in symptoms compared to a placebo. Based on these results, the company argues that this medication should be prescribed as the first-line treatment for this chronic illness.

However, some medical experts have raised concerns about the validity of the study. They point out that the trial was only conducted on a small group of patients and did not account for the placebo effect, which could have influenced the perceived improvements. Additionally, they note that the trials were funded entirely by the pharmaceutical company, which might create a conflict of interest.

The number of patients in the study is small compared to similar studies on medications for the same illness.

Other medications for the chronic illness have not been studied in relation to the same placebo.

The study did not distinguish between varying degrees of illness severity among patients.

The majority of patients in the study reported marked improvements during the initial weeks of treatment.

The funding sources for the study were not disclosed to the participants.

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