Data Flawed and Tampered — There is a person or persons responsible for this collosal foul-up that is going to cost the company perhaps its existence. That person or persons needs to be outed as soon as possible and publicly humiliated if not jailed for wrongful death. I’d start by looking at the board of directors.
According to an editorial published by the NEJM’s website on Thursday, a key Vioxx study published in the NEJM in 2000 failed to mention three incidences of heart attack among patients who took Vioxx. The NEJM said that until last month, it believed that the study’s authors were unaware of the heart attacks when they published it. However, recent testimony in a liablity suit over Vioxx revealed that the authors appeared to knowingly omit the data. As a consequence, the NEJM said it is asking the authors of the study, which was sponsored by Merck, to correct their study.
related link:
Merck Social Responsibility Page
Why lawsuits. I think lots of people could use Vioxx right now. They should let it back on the market and let people decide the risk for themselves.
Ouch….the New England Journal of Medicine published a corporate-sponsored paper which omitted crucial data which would have gone against the interests of said corporation? This kind of corruption has, I think, never before been seen in the scientific community. This should shake the entire community to its core. Peer-reviewed journals have fallen a long way from the ivory tower…
Typical lawyer trick – how to lie with statistics.
Were the heart attacks more than would be expected from a control group of the same number and age as the test subjects?
Was the dosage correct and followed?
Without that data, there isn’t enough data to show that the heart atttacks were relevant.
Goodness, do you know how many people who drink water die from heart attacks every year? – And just think how deadly it is when you inhale it.
By the same reasoning – Water should be immediately taken off the market no matter how many people say that they need it.
Actually, the heart attack information was badly mishandled (I’m being kind here) by Merck. The statistics — from Merck’s own study — showed a higher incidence of heart attack with Vioxx intake. They clearly knew about it two years before the FDA learned of it.
A pity that thousands of employees will lose their jobs just because a few bigwigs didn’t want their stock options to suffer. I expect they will be exchanging those options for jail time in the near future.
I took Vioxx for a couple of years. It helped my arthritis, was convenient, and better then the naproxin I use now. Would I like it back on the market? No. Its health benefit ratio is too tipped in favor of not allowing it for many cases. Unfortunately, few know when they will have a heart attack so consumers can not adequately assess the risk.