The Senate’s Finance Committee and the House’s Energy and Commerce Committee allege that the makers of the cholesterol drug, Vytorin, withheld negative findings to boost sales. Drug makers Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. are accused of suppressing data that shows Vytorin is only as effective as another generic drug called Zocor, made by Merck. The findings were partially released in January due to congressional pressure.
Vytorin combines Zocor and Schering-Plough’s Zetia, and was heavily advertised as a new and improved cholesterol fighting drug. This cooperative endeavor brought the companies $5.1 billion in sales in 2007.
Not only does Vytorin cost much more than Zocor, but Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said in a letter that delaying the results affected medical decisions, as well as put financial strain on patients and the government. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent by the government since the study ended nearly two years ago. Cardiologists are recommending that doctors go back to older tried-and-true cholesterol fighting drugs.
Two Versions of Why
The government alleges that the two drug companies withheld their poor findings in order to pump up their profits, even though they realized Vytorin was not as powerful as they claimed. Sen. Grassley’s letter also cites emails to Schering Plough executives from cardiologist Dr. John Kastelein. Kastelein stated that the suppression of the data was beginning to seem like it was done “for no other reason (than) political reasons.”
A spokeswoman for Merck stated that executives did not find out about the findings until after January, and that interpreting the data took longer than expected. Schering-Plough’s spokeswoman claims the company “did not deliberately delay” the findings to boost sales.
Stocks of both companies fell sharply after this story was reported on Monday, and has “cast a shadow” over the futures of both companies, though Merck is expected to fare better than Schering-Plough.
Do you get the feeling this isn’t the last time Big Pharma will choose profits over the health of patients? If you, or a loved one, feel that your health has been put in jeopardy by the actions of another party, please contact a personal injury lawyer in your area.
