More Drug Games

So do you believe Schering-Plough and Merck when they say they simply wanted to refine the study data on Vytorin for more clarity ... or do you think they were simply stalling to protect the $5 billion in sales in 2007 of Vytorin and Zetia?

How stupid do the drug companies think we, and our doctors, really are? First they want to change the primary way the data would be analyzed after it's collected, then they wanted to change the endpoint of the study which is like moving the goal line during the game. Could it be they're just in it for the money after all and not really interested in protecting our health?

Now that doctors are learning there wasn't any significant difference in the clogging of neck arteries even they're beginning to question the benefit of cholesterol-lowering drugs like Vytorin and Zetia. For the billions of dollars there simply aren't any benefits to patients.

Is it any surprise that Congress has started hearings about how drug companies play games with their research? Or that investigations have started into insider trading? Even the medical journals are finally beginning to question the "selective publication" of positive trials quickly while delaying (or hiding) any negative data.

In a for-profit, drug-dominated medical system it's clear what the priority is ... and it isn't our health.