| 3. | 4/25/2008 2:59:00 PM | Before I went to medical school I was employed at Merck and Co, Inc. in the research, manufacturing, and sales and marketing divisions at different times in my career. From a healthcare professional who has been involved in the inception, manfacture, and sales of several drugs and vaccines, I can say that I feel that the phamaceutical companies are often vilified in the mass media. Do they make money - yes, but in my years of experience with Merck I was never asked to unblind an ongoing study, present information that was untrue or misleading, or in any way mislead the public. I worked with a group of people who were highly educated, well trained, and were trying to push the limits of drug therapy to benefit the overall health of not only Americans, but global citizens. People who have no idea what it takes to bring a drug to market or the expense it entails are quick to judge the pharmaceutical industry. If you asked 10 Americans should we take any your medicine and just see what happens, I don't think they would be to quick to stop the very medications that this industry has made available to them. Nothing in science is always exact. There is always risk and benefit. These results are confusing even to myself with a degree in Molecular Biology and a background in both basic science and clinical research. These companies do have alot invested in these medications. They do need to make a return on their investment. Delaying drug release until everyone is absolutely postive that all patients will get benefit is irresponsible from both a fiancial as well as an ethical perspective. What it patients do get benefit from Vytorin in the form of overall LDL reduction. Perhaps LDL has other effects on the vessels that are not all explained by plaque progression. What if we delayed this medication and found out later that we could have saved lives by a mechanism that we don't yet understand. Who would we criticize then? |