In an article published online by the New England Journal of Medicine, popular cholesterol drugs Vytorin and Zetia have not been proven to be effective in lowering the buildup of plaque, a leading cause of heart attacks and strokes. The Journal article recommends patients return to the older form of lowering cholesterol, namely, statins. However, it cautioned patients to consult with their physicians before discontinuing the use of Vytorin or Zetia.
The medicines, jointly sold by Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp., were taken by more than 4 million patients in the U.S. last year and accounted for $5 billion in sales.
“What this tells us is that we have had far too many patients on these drugs than the science supports,” said Dr. W. Douglas Weaver, a cardiologist and president-elect of the American College of Cardiology. “I suspect we will see a significant decrease in prescriptions.”
Obviously, if the science doesn’t support it, the culprit is the marketing campaigns of these large drug companies. They push products without the scientific data to support their marketing claims. At times, they actually hide the scientific data so as to promote the drugs in question. Until the marketing practices of large pharmaceutical companies is regulated, this type of thing will become more commonplace.