Wall Street Journal: Merck/Schering "Coverage of Vytorin Cancer Data Fades Quickly"

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

Coverage of Vytorin Cancer Data Fades Quickly Aug 20, 08 Scott Hensley, Wall Street Journal Health Blog

Just when it seemed Vytorin was getting back on track, results of a study showing that patients taking the cholesterol-fighter had more cancers than those taking a placebo surprised everyone last month.

Merck and Schering-Plough, which jointly market the medicine, delayed their second-quarter earnings announcements so that scientists involved in analyzing the data could present the information publicly. They concluded that Vytorin doesn’t really increase cancer risk. Not everyone is so sure, including Rep. John Dingell, who asked to see how the researchers decided that Vytorin was safe.

Dingell Wants Vytorin Cancer Data August 1, 08 Jacob Goldstein, Wall Street Journal Blog

As night follows day, so a letter from Rep. John Dingell follows each new turn in the Vytorin saga. This morning’s WSJ reports on his latest request: Details on a study in which patients who took the cholesterol drug appeared more likely to develop cancer than patients who took placebos.

Merck and Schering-Plough, which co-market the drug, delayed their earnings announcements last month so that scientists could discuss the results of the study. On a conference call, Oxford researcher Richard Peto said he had analyzed the study data, along with data from other, larger Vytorin studies, and concluded that Vytorin doesn’t increase cancer risk.

Now Dingell, a Democrat who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has written to the FDA to request Peto’s analysis, which has been submitted to the agency but not to Congress.

“Vytorin may not be safe,” Dingell said in the letter. “Its potential for cancer and cancer deaths may be a significant cause for concern among physicians and patients.”

[pee_wee_herman43]

1. My wife took this drug.

[cosmik debris]

2. Does the word "vendetta" mean anything to you?

Cause that's what this looks like.

[notadmblnd]

3. Now why would the Wall Street Journal have a vendetta against Merck?

I assume that's who you are referring to as the OP gave no personal opinion whatsoever.

[mhatrw]

4. Why would Merck have a vendetta against the people taking Vytorin?

I think Merck just want their money and doesn't care if they get cancer. But I wouldn't call that a vendetta.

[cosmik debris]

8. I'm just saying...

When a person compulsively repeatedly attacks the same target over and over, it looks like disturbingly aberrant behavior.

The OP seems to have gone off the deep end with the desire to attack Merck over and over and over. It has become an obsession. And it is unhealthy.

[mhatrw]

10. By the same standards, Merck appears to have a vendetta against

the health of those who use its dangerous products. And that is far more unhealthy.

[cosmik debris]

13. And I'm just saying...

This crusade has progressed from argument to diatribe to parody.

Persistence is no longer an admirable quality if all you are presenting is parody.

Whether right or wrong, a person does not help their case by going to extremes.

And you and the OP passed the extreme point a long time ago.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. I Thought Vytorin Was Dead Anyway

I believe that it failed to show that it was more effective than older (and safe) statins for plaque buildup. It really shouldn't be used, even if there's not a cancer risk.

[Liberal Veteran]

7. It's not really anything new. It's basically Zocor and Zetia in one pill.

The statin component in Vytorin is simvastatin with has been around for decades.

[MannyGoldstein]

9. Zetia Seems To Add Nothing

And may have some risks.

[mhatrw]

11. What does Zocor add? n/t

[MannyGoldstein]

12. Zocor Reduces Risk Of Death

It's a statin drug - been around for years, available as a cheap generic, quite safe.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

6. "physicians should continue to monitor patients"... "significant link between Vytorin and cancer,"

FDA Says Vytorin Cancer Investigation Will Take Nine Months

by Peggy Peck, Executive Editor, MedPage Today Published: August 21, 2008
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 21 -- The FDA confirmed today what has been suspected for a month -- that it is investigating a report that ezetimibe/simvastatin (Vytorin) use may increase the risk of cancer. ....the FDA said physicians should continue to monitor patients taking the combination and report side effects to the agency.

..."We are concerned that a study has found a significant link between Vytorin and cancer," said Dingell in a statement. "Now it appears that Merck/Schering-Plough and its consultant are presenting two different data sets from this study to the public. Doctors and consumers should have better information on which to base their health care decisions."

They suggested that the analysis conducted by Dr. Peto may not be as "independent" as expected, "given that his clinical trials unit is conducting the Study of Heart and Renal Protection (SHARP) trial of Vytorin, also funded by Merck, Schering-Plough, and/or the joint venture."

Thery that Dr. Peto has "apparently submitted a copy of his full report directly to FDA, but has not made it public, an action we deem questionable," Dingell and Stupak wrote in the letters to Fred Hassan

[glitch]

14. Thank you for posting. I am very interested in this information. K & R nt