About the Author

Robert Charles Powell, MD, PhD, is a physician & historian who, among other things, has been studying the development of uses of "pentox" for over a decade. Among his intriguing findings - here documented - is that "after pentoxifylline went off-patent in the United States in 1998 the supposedly more prestigious journals lost interest - while the generally non-Anglo-American journals retained or gained interest". "One has to wonder if this skewed publication pattern occurs concerning other medications - that certain editors, authors, and readers become less interested once a medication is not being promoted by a pharmaceutical company, while certain other editors, authors, and readers become more interested once the price of a medication is no longer supported by a patent."