Attention Deficit Pays at Shire

For a while, Gretchen LeFever was able to draw national television coverage to her crusade: what she calls the excessive diagnosis and treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The pediatric clinical psychologist made a name for herself after studying the apparent prevalence of ADHD in her eastern Virginia community. At one local school district, for example, LeFever found that 17% of the children in grades two through five had been diagnosed with ADHD. Moreover, she discovered that the vast majority of those diagnosed with the disorder were being treated with prescription stimulants like Ritalin and the next-generation drugs manufactured by Eli Lilly (LLY), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Shire Pharmaceuticals (SHPGY).

On average, only about 5% of the nation's children supposedly suffer from ADHD. So LeFever's findings, representing the highest rates of ADHD ever documented, led to stories by major news outlets including CBS, CNN and NPR.

But soon enough, critics attacked her research. LeFever believes some were actually bankrolled by the pharmaceutical industry. She says even her employer, the financially strapped Eastern Virginia Medical School, turned against her. The university failed to return a phone call from TheStreet.com.

"I was one of the more notable researchers at the school," LeFever says. "But suddenly, everything I did was under scrutiny."

Now, LeFever says she no longer feels surprised. After all, she has come to realize, her research could threaten a major growth market for the cash-rich drug industry.

In this third of five articles exploring apparent conflicts of interest in the medical business, TheStreet.com examines how an increasingly popular but still controversial diagnosis has paid off for big pharma companies -- and how the industry might benefit from silencing troublesome questions.