Vioxx recall hearings at Senate produce no surprises

Today's hearings on the recall of Vioxx by the Senate Finance Committee did produce some interesting details but these did not come from either Merck or the FDA. In fact they came from David Graham. He said, "I would argue that the FDA as currently configured is incapable of protecting America against another Vioxx." He also told the committee that research indicated that Vioxx caused up to 160,000 heart attacks and strokes. It may be pointed out that over 25,000 deaths are being attributed to Vioxx in the United States alone.

Graham told the Committee that there were at least five other drugs on the market today that should be looked at seriously to see whether they should remain there. He cited the acne drug Accutane, the weight loss drug Meridia, the anti-cholesterol drug Crestor, the pain reliever Bextra, and the asthma drug Serevent. If you are taking any of these drugs, it may be a good time to seek the advice of your physician.

Raymond V. Gilmartin, the company president, as predicted in Vioxx recall blog, said in prepared testimony that Merck acted within four days of learning about the risk. "Given the availability of alternative therapies and the questions raised by the data withdrawing Vioxx was consistent with an ethic that has driven Merck actions and decisions for more than 100 years," he said.

Senator Jeff Bingaman, said the problem was within the FDA's own culture. "The culture within the FDA, being one where the pharmaceutical industry, which the FDA is supposed to regulate, is seen by the FDA as its client instead," he said.

During last four years, the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry has become even closer as the industry successfully lobbied the government to not lift the ban on importing prescription drugs from Canada. Almost all of the campaign contributions of the pharma industry went to reelection of President Bush so that the administration will continue to take a lenient approach to the industry and not lift the ban on importing drugs or in other ways give a hard time to the industry.

Related link: Complete list of articles on Vioxx recall