An update from The Scientist (free reg'n req'd) on the Merck/Elsevier story: there were six other fake journals issued on behalf of unnamed sponsors.

We previously covered Elsevier's publication of an apparently peer-reviewed serious journal for Merck, that was in fact a Merck-sponsored promotional tool.

Now The Scientist has found that there were seven such journals published between 2000 and 2005 by Elsevier's Australian operation.

"a "series of sponsored article publications" were put out by their Australia office and bore the Excerpta Medica imprint from 2000 to 2005. These titles were: the Australasian Journal of General Practice, the Australasian Journal of Neurology, the Australasian Journal of Cardiology, the Australasian Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, the Australasian Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine, and the Australasian Journal of Bone & Joint. Elsevier declined to provide the names of the sponsors of these titles, according to the company spokesperson."

If they can, would Merck and the other major drug companies please start denying their involvement in these others so we can see who the unnamed drug companies are?