Vytorin - an example of Big Pharma filth and corruption?

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"Merck & Co. and Schering Plough Corp., makers of the cholesterol-lowering combination drug Vytorin, are getting hit with a wave of lawsuits asserting the companies knew its product didn't work and delayed telling the public about it. At least 10 lawsuits have been filed in federal courts... The drugmakers "reaped billions of dollars in profits" by failing to release negative results, asserted a class-action complaint filed by a Philadelphia firm..."

Drug-company supported American Heart Association rushes to defend Big Pharma:
"Both the American College of Cardiology, which represents most cardiologists, and the American Heart Association echoed the companies' assurances and urged patients on Vytorin not to panic after a major test of Vytorin was released on Jan 14. But their stands have drawn criticism from congressional investigators and others because both groups take in substantial sums from pharmaceutical firms."

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/2 ... akers.html

Moral of story - Don't trust Big Pharma or the groups they support such as American Heart Association. From what I've read, eating a high fat, high cholesterol, high sodium diet are important for good health.

Evidence of American Heart Association corruption regarding their low sodium recommendation - http://www.mercola.com/2003/jul/30/sodi ... ations.htm

According to Dr. Mercola, "no study has ever found an association between low-sodium diets and a reduced incidence of cardiovascular or other diseases" and "An eight-year study of New York hypertensives found that those on low-salt diets had more than four times as many heart attacks as controls with normal sodium intake." I've read that not getting enough sodium may contribute to chronic health problems resulting in massive profits for Big Pharma. Don't take their word for it. Research everything yourself. It's your health.

I'm perseverating on Big Pharma and government corruption. That's why I post stuff like this.

This is why privatised pharmaceutical companies without proper regulation are a stupid idea. Just like wholly privatised healthcare.

I think drug companies should have to pay an independent party to study the safety and efficacy of their drugs before they're improved instead of conductiong their own trials after the drug is approved and whitholding the results as long as they can.

I don't like wholly privatized healthcare either. They used to offer individual policies to healthy people and then cancelled them as soon as they got a major illness so they wouldn't have to pay any major claims. The government made that illegal. They get around that now by drastically increasing the premium when someone gets sick and then dropping the coverage when the person insured is unable to pay. They can legally offer coverage for $200/month and then raise it to $2,000/month if you get cancer and then refuse to pay for treatment if the new higher premium isn't paid.

Here's some examples of what these companies do:

"Mary Rogers, who was paying $429 monthly, had just suffered a stroke. The new policy offered to her in 1999 had a premium more than triple the old one, $1,448 a month."

"Shaneen and Tom Wahl were paying $417 a month for health insurance when Mrs. Wahl was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996. Their premiums began rising steadily, and by August 2000, the Wahls were told their new rate would be $1,881 a month."

"Miami insurance agent George Bernstein quit selling American Medical policies, outraged, he says, that the premium for a 64-year-old client who has diabetes and a cardiac pacemaker jumped 60% on April 1 to $4,861 a month, or $58,332 a year. It was just $252 a month when she bought her coverage nine years ago."

http://www.rvhometown.com/HTML/Health/Wahl_WSJ.htm

so. What have you personally done to fight back against pharmaceutical companies that sell such expensive cr*p to clueless folks that know no better?

I talk to about 30 people a week who call for drug/medication information and I am glad to let them know the following.

Medication Name Generic? Preferred? Restrictions? Total Average Cost *
VYTORIN NO YES YES $92.68

Generics for Vytorin
SIMVASTATIN YES YES NO $5.93
LOVASTATIN YES YES NO $14.16
PRAVASTATIN SODIUM YES YES NO $15.44

so, if you want to know what the generic versions of all those over priced under effective medications are just go to http://www.regencerx.com/learn/rxPriceGuide/index.html

and actually DO something!

Merle

Thanks for the info, zendell.