Patients retaliate against drug companies

Drug companies are fighting back after their credibility is under serious doubt. While Merck declares that its value is "Our business is preserving and improving human life," the company actually did not recall Vioxx for as many as four years. It neither preserved life nor did it improve it as tens of thousands of victims worldwide suffer from severe side effects of Vioxx.

Similarly, Pfizer, the maker of drugs like Celebrex and Bextra (both of which have been shown to cause enormous damage to the heart), also claims that its mission is, "We dedicate ourselves to humanity's quest for longer, healthier, happier lives." But the ferocity with which Pfizer has defended Celebrex despite calls from the medical community for immediate recall of Celebrex clearly shows that corporate profits are more important than human lives.

But when drug companies and the FDA do not do their job of saving human lives, doctors and patients themselves are taking charge. After the recall of Vioxx, most arthritis patients switched to Celebrex or Bextra. But bad news did not stop with the recall of Vioxx in September. In December, more disturbing data was disclosed about both Bextra and Celebrex and even Aleve was found to be a problem drug. As a result, patients are now switching to other alternatives though it is true that there are very few choices left. (Related article: What should Vioxx/Celebrex/Bextra patients do?)

According to ImpactRx, Celebrex's share of new prescriptions in its market of painkillers dropped Dec. 22 to 4 percent, down from 13 percent on Dec. 16, the day before the company announced the drug's troubles. Prescriptions for the less popular Bextra also are plummeting. On Dec. 22, it accounted for just 2 percent of the painkiller market, down from 6 percent on Dec. 16.

Many experts have argued in the past that Cox-2 inhibitor drugs (e.g. Vioxx, Ceoxx, Celebrex, Bextra, etc.) do not provide any additional benefits than those already available from over-the-counter pain killers. Plus, a recent study has pointed out that acupuncture is another excellent solution for pain. These are the options that patients are exploring. (Related article: Like Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex may eventually need to be recalled)

On a rather interesting note, when Michael Moore, the famous film-maker declared that he was going to make a documentary to expose how the drug firms put profits ahead of human lives, the drug companies have reacted fast by telling their employees not to cooperate with him or his crew. "We ran a story in our online newspaper saying Moore is embarking on a documentary and if you see a scruffy guy in a baseball cap, you'll know who it is," said Stephen Lederer, a spokesman for Pfizer Global Research and Development.

The drug companies have connections in high places in Washington and literally everyone in the administration and at the FDA owes them a favor, but it is only when American people will fight back will the drug industry change. Americans know that profits are important and some drugs will not work out as well as expected but when drug companies like Pfizer and Merck demonstrate total disregard for their patients, they have no other choice but to fight back. (Related article: Americans may soon lose their right to sue drugmakers for manufacturing killer drugs)

And it is pretty obvious that Americans are not just filing class action lawsuits because they enjoy doing so. It is that drug companies have literally left them with no choice than to join Vioxx class action lawsuits.

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