NEW YORK - Embattled drug-maker Merck & Co. may be in for more problems as a scientist reportedly is raising estimates of those who suffered ill-effects from Vioxx.
The Financial Times reports that Food and Drug Administration scientist David Graham has vowed to publish research that suggests up to 139,000 Americans died or have been seriously injured as a result of taking the drug.
Graham originally estimated in August that 28,000 Americans had died or suffered debilitating heart attacks as a result of taking Vioxx.
The revised version of a paper by Graham likely will fuel debate over the effectiveness of the U.S. drug regulatory system and may spur additional litigation against Vioxx-maker Merck.
Merck withdrew Vioxx from the market in the fall after it identified health risks in its own study of the drug.
Interesting that I should run in to this not an hour or so after my post on NASAID's. If his report is on the money then that is a 500% increase over previous numbers. I am sure that Vioxx and their lawyers are already having meetings about how to deal with the impending litigation, but how i would love to be a fly on the wall when that report is released.
I hope that the The Justice department is seriously looking in to these reports. So far it looks like all that is happening is the FDAis playing CYA. Seems like they are more interested in protecting their own asses then doing their jobs correctly. Whit irks me more then anything is that we spend millions of dollars prosecuting people like Martha Stewart the morons from Tyco and lets not forget the kind people from WorldCom and Enron.
Now I believe that all of the above should be held accountable for their crimes because bilking people out of their life savings and/or retirement plan is wrong. However, in the end they still have their lives while the people affected by drugs the FDA approved (because companies failed to conduct complete studies or withheld critical information) die.
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