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Vytorin under FDA scrutiny as possible heart risk drug


Vytorin under FDA scrutiny as possible heart risk drug Again, pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. may be involved in potentially harmful if not fatal drugs. This time such a drug may be Vytorin, which Merck produces along with Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals.  The Food and Drug Administration is exploring whether Vytorin, which is used to reduce cholesterol, could instead fail in that task while also contributing to its users getting cancer.
A trial study of the drug reportedly showed that those who used it had an increased risk for a variety of cancers. Not only that, but the study reported that Vytorin failed in its mission of reducing cardiovascular problems caused by cholesterol, a substance which can narrow or block arteries, thus leading to heart attacks and strokes.

FDA needs more Vytorin data

The FDA expects to receive more information from the trial study in several months and then will spend six months evaluating it. So far, the FDA is not recommending that doctors stop prescribing the drug, but it is urging them to monitor patients for side effects and to alert the FDA if they arise.

Vytorin is designed to lower levels of LDL cholesterol, which is considered harmful cholesterol, unlike HDL cholesterol, which is beneficial.

Dr. Daniel Steinberg, a University of California professor emeritus of medicine, sees an association between low LDL levels and cancer, though he doesn’t necessarily attribute that to Vytorin.

But the five-year trial study of Vytorin by Simvastatin and Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis (SEAS) showed that “a larger percentage of patients treated with Vytorin were diagnosed with and died from all types of cancer combined, when compared to treatment with a placebo.”

Merck battled over Vioxx, too

Merck is the same pharmaceutical giant which produced the painkiller Vioxx, which was found in many court cases to be responsible for heart problems, including fatal heart attacks. Between 1999 and 2004, more than 25 million Americans took Vioxx.

 

When heart problems surfaced, at least 4,600 persons or their survivors sued the company, claiming Vioxx had caused heart attacks and strokes. It’s estimated that between 88,000 and 139,000 persons suffered adverse effects from Vioxx after taking the drug daily for 18 months.

Merck recalled the drug and has fought the lawsuits, for which some juries have made awards of more than $200 million dollars, including punitive damages. The company reportedly lost $38 billion in market value after its enormous Vioxx recall.

Vytorin is a combination drug, blending Merck’s Zocor, a statin, and Schering-Plough’s Zetia, an ezetimibe.

Vytorin could increase heart trouble

Unlike Vytorin and Zetia, the statin drug Lipitor has been shown not only to reduce LDL cholesterol levels but to raise good cholersterol (HDL) levels and to fight artery inflammation and other cardiovascular problems.

The SEAS research found that even though Vytorin reduced bad cholesterol (LDL) levels, it did not slow artery blockage enough to make it an alternative to statin drugs such as Lipitor.

If you believe you or a loved one has suffered cardiovascular or other health problems due to using the drug Vytorin, contact a Jim S. Adler & Associates personal injury attorney today. The firm’s defective drug lawyers are skilled and experienced in handling such cases, and its Vioxx injury attorneys already have fought for their clients’ quality of life.

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