Vytoringate! Senate Boards Bandwagon

January 24, 2008, 1:38 pm

Vytoringate! Senate Boards Bandwagon

Posted by Jacob Goldstein

Not content to let the House of Representatives have the Vytorin
spotlight to itself, Senator Chuck Grassley today got in on the action
with a batch of letters to the SEC, the American Heart Association,
the American College of Cardiology and the CEOs of Merck and Schering-
Plough.

The letters, which the WSJ's Anna Wilde Mathews passed along to the
Health Blog, come a week and a half after Merck and Schering-Plough,
which co-market Vytorin, released data suggesting the drug doesn't
slow the progression of heart disease any more than a generic statin.

Grassley asks the SEC about the timing of drug company executives'
stock sales with respect to the trial. He asks the AHA about their
sources of industry funding and, citing the AHA's statement in
response to the Enhance trial, asks specific questions about AHA Web
offerings entitled "The Two Sources of Cholesterol" (a phrase similar
to one used in Vytorin's ad campaign) and "What is cholesterol?."

In a letter to the ACC, Grassley asks about any funding the group
receives from industry. He also writes that he is "interested in
whether or not the ACC also urged Schering-Plough and Merck to release
the ENHANCE results when it was discovered that the companies were
delaying the release. Accordingly, please name all individuals
involved in drafting the
ACC statement on the ENHANCE trial."

In the letters to Schering and Merck, he asks a lot of questions about
the timing of the Enhance trial and other studies. He also asks about
whether the companies have provided funding to the AHA and ACC.

Separately, the AHA changed its Web site to make the sponsorship by
the companies of a cholesterol page clearer, the New York Times
reported.

Vytoringate Bonus: Reps. John Dingell and Bart Stupak from the House
Committee on Energy and Commerce chimed in too. "Given the AHA's and
ACC's recent statements on Vytorin and the ENHANCE study, our
Committee is interested to learn what financial arrangements exist
between the marketers of Vytorin and these two organizations," Dingell
said in a statement. "The public places great trust in the official
views of the AHA and the ACC, so it is important to verify that these
views have not been compromised by a financial relationship with the
pharmaceutical industry."

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Vytoringate! Senate Boards Bandwagon
    ... Not content to let the House of Representatives have the Vytorin ... Health Blog, come a week and a half after Merck and Schering-Plough, ... asks specific questions about AHA Web ... In a letter to the ACC, Grassley asks about any funding the group ...
    (sci.med.cardiology)
  • Re: Merck, Schering-Plough Defend Efforts for Vytorin, Zetia
    ... New Vytorin Report Draws Fire ... they say Merck and Schering-Plough may have deliberately ... head of cardiology at Walter Reed Army Medical ...
    (sci.med.cardiology)