The Associated Press reports over the weekend that Vytorin, a cholesterol-reducing drug made and marketed jointly by Merck and Schering-Plough, has little effect in improving heart disease. According to the article, the "study was watched closely because Zetia and Vytorin have racked up $5 billion in sales despite limited proof of benefit. [Italics mine.]
Two congressional panels launched inquiries into why it took drugmakers nearly two years after the study's completion to release results." The article also reports that the "New England Journal of Medicine also published a report showing that Vytorin and Zetia's use soared in the United States amid a $200 million marketing blitz. In Canada, where advertising drugs to consumers is not allowed, sales were four times lower."
This last point raises more questions than it answers. As Canada's population is one-tenth that of ours, one might well ask why sales there were so relatively high. Clearly, something stealthy and insidious is going on, something that merits a full-fledged journalistic inquiry from somewhere. Among the questions that need answering:
What conditions allow $5 billion dollars of sales of a drug with limited proof of benefit?
What is the full extent of the Merck/Schering-Plough marketing strategy?
How are doctors complicit?
To what extent to state and federal regulations permit this? (Too often, the real scandal is what's legal.)
How could the government have legally interposed itself and why didn't it, or why didn't whatever efforts it took have more impact?
What other Vytorins and Zetias are out there?
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, killing over 1,200 Americans every day. Think of it this way: Every 2.5 days, heart disease kills as many of us as died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. This is a serious matter deserving of a sturdier inquiry than "Gee, how did they get away with dragging their feet on releasing the results of the study." Don't get me wrong: That's a great question, but it's only the first of what should be many. This is a great example of where the press must assume some public responsibility, because you can bet that no one else will...