Richard Kronmal suggests Merck let patients die
The trial in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the case against Merck brought by Frederick “Mike” Humeston, a clear storyline is emerging that Merck scientists and other business executives knew that Vioxx had serious safety issues but were under too much pressure from Wall Street and Pfizer to still go ahead and sell the drug. Their expectation was that it will be impossible for anyone to establish the link between heart attacks and the drug and they can use clever marketing and advertising to drown the voices of anyone who dared to ask.
Merck was very successful in its goals and Vioxx became a bestseller but not before injuring some 140,000 Americans along with up to 60,000 dead. As the plaintiff’s attorney Chris Seeger brought another witness – highly respected University of Washington biostatistician Richard Kronmal – he testified that as early as April 2001 Merck had data that showed a four-fold increase in the risk of death in Vioxx patients. Yet the company, which was studying whether Vioxx was effective in treating Alzheimer’s disease (a totally different use from the original painkiller), continued the trial until 2003, he said. “They had evidence that they were potentially killing people and they let that trial go on for another two years,” said Kronmal. He suggested that the trial should have been immediately stopped to prevent any more deaths.
Dr. Kronmal also supported Dr. Benedict Lucchesi’s argument that according to his analysis of statistical data, even intermittent or rare use of Vioxx can cause heart attacks. Merck has been arguing all along that a patient needs to take the painkiller regularly for at least 18 months to see any adverse side effects.
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