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How Big Pharma Threatens Its Critics
Do you remember Vioxx? It was the anti-inflammatory pain medication taken by an estimated 80 million arthritis sufferers around the world from 1999 to 2004. The incredible success of the drug was due in large part to its supposed safety.
Unlike other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, Vioxx did not cause stomach irritation or damage the kidneys in regular users. Its acceptance as one of the go-to drugs by mainstream medical practitioners earned manufacturer Merck & Co. profits of at least $11 billion in the five years it was on the market.1
Then as is often the case when taking synthetic chemicals, the reports of dangerous side effects began to surface — and they were serious indeed. Thousands of people (or their survivors) claimed to have suffered heart attacks or strokes after taking the drug. In 2004, Merck voluntarily recalled Vioxx, and finally in 2008 paid out $4.85 billion to over 48,500 claimants in the US who proved they suffered adverse health effects from taking the drug.2
Now the same story, on a smaller scale, is being played out in an Australian courtroom. This time though, Merck & Company and its Australian subsidiary, Merck, Sharpe and Dohme are fighting a class action suit filed by more than 1000 Australians who claim they suffered heart attacks or strokes after taking Vioxx.
While this move by Merck may not be surprising, some of the evidence being presented against them certainly is. According to published reports of the trial, before Vioxx was recalled, Merck had a very effective means to silence health professionals who expressed concerns or negative opinions about the drug.3
The shocking court evidence shows company employees drew up a “hit list” of doctors, researchers, and academics who, it was felt, had to be “neutralized” or discredited from criticizing the drug. Before you assume Merck hired a few of Tony Soprano’s boys to do the job, I’ll clarify, that’s not what Merck had in mind.
Instead, their method for silencing professional critics consisted of intimidation in the form of subtle threats to cut off research funding and block academic appointments. According to one e-mail submitted as evidence, a Merck employee stated, “we may need to seek them out and destroy them where they live” — a threat that amounts to ruining careers and jeopardizing livelihoods — all for the sake of making big profits on a dangerous drug.
At one point the situation was so bad that Dr. James Fries, a professor of medicine at Stanford University wrote a letter to the CEO of Merck describing how at least eight clinical investigators on his staff had been victims of intimidation, including one who had received phone calls accusing him of “anti-Merck” bias.3 According to Dr. Fries, tactics like this on the part of Merck employees, “seriously impinge on academic freedom.” I agree with him 100%.
But now larger questions remain to be asked.
How many times have Merck and other companies in the Big Pharma cartel gotten away with silencing honest health professionals who were trying to stop dangerous drugs from being introduced to a trusting public?
How many of the thousands of people who suffered severe reactions including heart attacks and strokes from taking Vioxx could have been spared if critics had the freedom to speak out against its harmful effects — without reprisal?
Finally, how many potentially dangerous pharmaceuticals are currently being marketed even though leading researchers have serious doubts about their safety?
The Vioxx case gives us only a glimpse into how Big Pharma operates behind the scenes to continue growing its huge profits. If this is any indication, consumer safety seems to be at the bottom of their list of priorities.
References
- http://www.injuryboard.com/national-news/merck-partial-payments-for-vioxx-begin-this-month.aspx?googleid=245300
- http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/3474
- http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25272600-2702,00.html
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it’s about time people started to trust good info from ie, your website @others as well,that these drug companeys don’t realy care about trying to help heal people with their products but are just manly interested in filling their walets that their fat behinds usualy sit on.
Thank you for helping to expose the greedy evil that lurks behind the seemingly untouchable pharmaceutical companies. They are not alone in their lack of care for those they “serve.” Commerce MUST change to truly serve the buyer and not just the seller.
Judith & Jim
Judith Sherven, PhD and Jim Sniechowski, PhD
http://TheHeartOfMarketing.com
What do you think the FDA is doing? They accept the drug companies research on the drug, of course the research isn’t done by the drug company itself, it’s a company paid by the drug company. The drug companies use the FDA as their paid muscle to stop alternative cures from entering the market. The trouble should stop with the FDA not begin with it.
You guys who are so quick to trash big pharma don’t go to doctors and take pills when prescribed? You’re just a bunch of two-faced scum riding on the scare wagon just like all the trial lawyers who smelled many greenbacks for themselves by attacking Vioxx. In fact, Vioxx was the best pain reliever modern medicine has ever produced. I have a few Vioxx pills left that are seven years old, and they still take away my arthritis pain. The truth is doctors prescribed it for people who had heart problems though they knew such people should not be taking it, and some people died from taking it because they ignored the directions. The only other cox-2 inhibitor on the market, Celebrex, is more dangerous and not nearly as effective as Vioxx. All you media swine and greedy lawyers are responsible for hurt and pain for millions of people. Thanks a lot!
That is why I have always sought alternative to the Drug company’s cures - and now EFT (www.emofree.com) is at the top of my use list -it is so fantastic and you relly are self-healing and that gives you better insentive to continually use this wondrous “acupuncture without needles”.
Glad to see you have the courage to speak out on these issues, and also to back up the information with facts.
People really should take charge of their own health and
not leave it up to their doctors. Ask questions. Get answers that satisify you. Don’t just be a blind follower.
What you really need to do is look into why a drug that interferes with pain reception in the body caused heart attacks in the first place. It would appear that interfering with one part of the body’s immune system (i.e. pain/inflammation) creates a domino affect to other parts of the immune system, which are all supposed to work in unison to keep us alive. Our heart is a major part of our immune system and this drug actually shut it down in some patients by screwing around with another part of the immune system somewhere else in the body. These drugs are the metabolic equaivalent of using hand grenades to take care of a cock roach issue. The treatments are a success but the patient dies. The name of a malfunction is never important unless the factors causing the malfunction are addressed and these drugs never allow the patient to look at themselves as the main source of their own dysfunction. If you are successful, you created the success. If you are sick you created that as well. For more information about the dangers of all prescription drugs watch Gary Null’s Prescription for Diaster on google video free of charge.
Oh this brings back memories. I remember when drug stores started selling prescription histories of physicians to big pharm. Paxil was clobbering Prozac, so the local rep came down hard on doctors, showing them printouts of their prescription history, implying that they weren’t using good medical judgement to prescribe “the other drug.”
Lets talk oxycodone - the rep denied, bold faced lied denied, that the drug was addicting.
Will state that there a number of good, honest folk who work as drug reps but a lot of them, oooh, they’d give a use car salesman a run for the title of the sleeziest salesman around.
Great article. Profit is the word. Heal is another matter.
Please advise at what stage the canadian vioxx class action suit is at? my sister in law suffered a heart attack after using vioxx.
I used vioxx ; nothing happened to me: but, I disagree on the way FDA dealls with peoples’ lives. As well as how THe Bildergroup decides the death of people, bankruptcies. All, nicely wrapped by the most beautiful people in the world. Organized by the NAZI father of Queen Beatrix, followed by his son-in-law and herself, Haig, Kissinger.
Get your minds back on track, there is no longer a democracy in USA. Take it BACK.
The Clintons have finally been accepted to the troops, The Gates….You are peppets in a string.
Condoleza Rice and all your shitty, people.
Democracy: is for the people and not for the few just with money….. Read between the lines.
Advocate in helping any intolerance , concept hidden agenda, intolerance and hate warmongers, who decide which people should suffer: Verna Gabel
Thanks, we suspected, now we know. What about those who were given NSAIDS long term for pain without any warning of the health effects, including heart and blood circulation problems and the NOVASC problems with periodental disease and loss of teeth and Dilantan and the effects of long term use for control of seizures. HELP, protect us from those who are sworn to protect our health. thank, thank you. The FDA is not doing its job, as they are charged to do.
Reasearch conducted by organisations under pharmacutical company sponsorship should never be considered as authoritive or independant. Unless the researchers are kept at arms length from the funding or the testing is done as a blind test, we can never trust the results.
Like any survey or research, you have to look at the results and take into account the perspective of the researcher and what they set out to acheive.
Great job showing the reality of Big Pharma. One of the best examples was the pressure exerted on T. Colin Campbell, author of The China Study (an excellent, and highly recommended book, by the way). He tells of it in his book. I’m still amazed that we allow these powerful mega corps to run our lives…and our country.