HEALTH

'Very Serious' Allegations

Did Vytorin's makers intentionally suppress unfavorable trial results? Rep. Bart Stupak will hold hearings to try to find out.

By Jennifer Barrett | Newsweek Web Exclusive

Jan 17, 2008 | Updated: 6:14 p.m. ET Jan 17, 2008

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Discuss

Posted By: observer101 @ 01/30/2008 4:49:34 PM

Comment: I have been to medical studies in the past..Biokenetics, and I know for a fact they fudge results to favor the drugs they are testing. So I feel these major drug companies that are out there are NOT in it to help others, just in it to make a profit and make ppl addicted to there products, or suffer from side effects to take another product ( more money for them) so ppl put more money into there pockets. Its immoral. In a hundred years there probably wont be enough of us left to buy meds and support the industry. Think about it...EVERYTHING we take has some possiblity of an ever worse side effect. Take something for the runs, you could end up with some syndrome youve never had before. Point?...Human misery and suffering is a business that pays for drug companies and they will say and do what ever it takes, even lie and bribe, at the expense of our lives to make that profit.
Posted By: etiblier @ 01/27/2008 6:53:11 PM

Comment: Vytorin does not have any data proving life saving benefits , like other statins. Schering would like everyone to make that assumption in order for them to continue to profit. This is a 25 BILLION dollar market. Why else would they withold data from a negative trial (2006) which would clearly lower sales?
Posted By: dewcooper @ 01/18/2008 1:54:06 PM

Comment: 'It's also an issue for the government, and for taxpayers, because of Medicare and Medicaid--we pay for all that. So we want to see how much Medicaid and Medicare has spent on Vytorin since April 2006 to the present day.'

The implacation being they would force the companies to pay back that money. Just hink what the governemnt will investigate if they are put in charge of every American's healthcare. Need to balance the budget? Just tell all of the people in the US who had heart surgery that it wasn't necessary and they need to pay the government back the $100,000. Makes me want to trust them with my medical care...

As far as the FDA, they will probably claim that they fast-tracked Vytorin since the two drugs it is comprised of have already been trialed. Sort of like what they did with Splenda. Who cares if there are long term side effects...
Posted By: chrismsu20 @ 01/18/2008 10:41:47 AM

Comment: Thanks for ripping me off Merck!! Appreciate it... scumbags!
Posted By: Cricket @ 01/18/2008 10:40:46 AM

Comment: I will now discuss the alternatives to vytorin with my physician. I have always resented the advertising of this medication as being rude, disrespectful, juvenile and distasteful. Human beings do not look like food and both are being insulted. The same goes for Lipator and that arrogant Dr. Jarvik earning millions for putting his face in front of us. I have a great sense of humor otherwise!
Posted By: chrismsu20 @ 01/18/2008 10:40:26 AM

Comment: I take Vytorin on a daily basis and my cholesterol has lowered substantially. However, when these drug companies are charging me outrageous prices for Vytorin when I could save substantially on the generic Simvastatin -- I find this flat-out wrong. Let us leave it to the Republicans to keep their noses out of our private lives -- since their the ones that are rich in corporate stock. But we got the Democrats in control of Congress now -- and I hope they chide the heck out of Merck, or at least make them rebate customers for the price difference of Vytorin and the geneneric.
Posted By: sgtretired @ 01/18/2008 9:11:38 AM

Comment: I take vytorin daily as the other drugs on the market do absolutely nothing for my cholesterol. Why is the House Committee on Energy and Commerce holding these hearing and not the FDA? Does this committee have nothing better to do? Should they not be holding hearings on how to lower the cost of energy to heat our homes, fuel our automobile?
Posted By: Dougrph67 @ 01/18/2008 9:09:15 AM

Comment: The FDA is owned by the drug companies, and trust me, Merck etc are only concerned about profits. Not to be political, but that is why this pharmacist is supporting a certain former senator from NC......
Posted By: sgtretired @ 01/18/2008 9:04:06 AM

Comment: I take vytorin daily. Lipitor and zocor had no effect on my cholesterol levels. The federal government needs to keep its nose out of this and deal with bigger issues.
pawpaw
Posted By: C. MacLean @ 01/18/2008 9:00:57 AM

Comment: We live in a drug culture - if organized crime can figure out how supply and demand works for drug sales, why is so hard to believe that pharmaceutical companies, advertising companies, and the FDA have, too?

It is much easier to pop a pill than get at the root of the problem, and our instant-gratification society does not want to face long term behavior change; we don't want to exercise, eat right, stop smoking, cut down our alcohol consumption - heck, we don't even want to drink 8 glasses of water a day.

But the hard truth is that our major health problems: obesity, type II diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and alcohol/drug abuse ( as well as tobacco-induced respiratory diseases) are all chronic diseases that respond very well to behavioral change, and in the vast of majority of cases, don't require medication if you change the poor behaviors.

Rather than pour trilions of dollars into prescription medications that have unpleasant or dangerous side effects and high costs over time - you have to take most of the drugs for life, how very convenient for the drug companies and folks with drug company stock - we should have an immediate moratorium for 5 years on all drug research.

Instead, put the money into research that looks at how to motivate people to make long-term behavior change, and how to sustain it.

This situation was predictable from the moment we allowed pharcaceutical sales on television. The pressure to perform fiancially for all the players involved is now too enormous for good science to prevail; it is now about profits, desparation and greed.

It certainly isn't about the health of the American patient.

C.MacLean, RN, MS
Posted By: ikie12pts @ 01/18/2008 8:56:52 AM

Comment: The writer of this article has used strange spelling and unacceptable grammar. Doesn't anyone ever proofread these things?
Posted By: leprechaun1230 @ 01/18/2008 8:34:45 AM

Comment: this is just one more example of big drug companies screwing the public. and you wonder why medical insurance is so expensive? Drug companies charge exhorbitant prices for medications that don't work, knowing the suckers will pay the price. The FDA is basically in bed with the whores and allow them to get away with virtual murder!!
Posted By: choltrn @ 01/18/2008 8:33:34 AM

Comment: I don't get this. The FDA doesn't have to know the results of a drug trial were unfavorable?? How about all the side effects of statin therapy? How about co-enzyme Q-10 depletion? Who is running this ship? I think this should be front page news of every newspaper in the country, and the FDA should be hung out to dry.
- Posted By: kgar @ 01/20/2008 01:39:33
  
  Comment: Did yiou all stop to think how many lives Vytorin has saved? It is still lowring LDL more thatn Zocor is and lowring LDL is a precursor for Cardiovascular Heart Disease,