In 1986, British cardiologist Peter Wilmshurst challenged the evidence behind amrinone, a cardiac drug manufactured by Sterling-Winthrop. After experiments by his group found no improvement in heart-muscle contractility and frequent life-threatening side effects, Wilmshurst said the company asked him to suppress the results. He refused, published his findings, and brought the matter to The Guardian and the UK's Committee on Safety of Medicines. The drug had also been supported by a Harvard Medical School study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, whose lead author was Eugene Braunwald.
Wilmshurst reported that Sterling-Winthrop had not disclosed the adverse events to UK authorities and had threatened the UK government with closure of a major manufacturing plant. Following the scrutiny, the company reported more than 1,400 adverse events to the US Food and Drug Administration, ended research and marketing of amrinone in the United States, and withdrew the oral drug entirely in 1986. The episode became a prominent example of alleged industry pressure on researchers and incomplete safety reporting; Wilmshurst later received the 2003 Health Watch Award for whistleblowing.
