More Evil Behavior from Merck

[Guest guest]

http://www.mercola.com/2005/jun/14/merck_behavior.htm

 

More Evil Behavior from Merck

 

 

By Dr. Joseph Mercola

with Dr. Daniel Chong

 

The amazing disregard for public health by many drug companies has

been chronicled on this site for a number of years now. Additionally,

Dr. Angell, a former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine and

major " insider, " has written the single best book on this topic, and

it is highly recommended if you have any interest in this area.

 

If you read Dr. Angell's book or many of the articles I have run on

this site detailing this evil behavior, I sincerely believe that Merck

would receive the winning prize for the 'most serious disregard of

ethical behavior that has influenced the largest number of people.' In

case you're not familiar with them, they are the company that killed

over 55,000 people with their drug Vioxx.

 

This is really sad as Merck has a long-standing history of being at

the forefront of the entire drug industry for providing leadership and

high ethical standards. It is unclear to me why they developed such

sordid business practices in recent years.

 

Statin Drugs and CoQ10

 

While Lipitor is clearly the market leader for statin drugs, many may

not realize that Merck started this market by introducing Mevacor and

then Zocor. They have been passed up by Pfizer, though, with Lipitor.

 

While the statin drugs millions of Americans are taking are certainly

effective at what they do, very few people realize that they can be

equally as dangerous. Well-recognized, potential side effects printed

in safety information for each drug include liver dysfunction, muscle

disease and kidney failure.

 

An equally problematic, yet lesser known, danger of statin drugs

involves their ability to block the production of CoQ10 in your body.

Found naturally in meats, in particular beef heart, CoQ10 is also a

popular dietary supplement used mostly for boosting energy, stamina

and heart function. CoQ10 is a vital nutrient, possessing powerful

antioxidant capabilities, and is essential for cellular energy

production in every cell of your body, particularly your heart and liver.

 

Dr. Julian Whitaker, world-renowned author, nutritional expert and

co-founder--along with Dr. Linus Pauling--of the California

Orthomolecular Medical Society, states that, " Patients who take statin

drugs without CoQ10, particularly those with a history of heart

disease, are especially prone to developing complications that can

have fatal consequences. "

 

Merck's Shenanigans Unveiled Again

 

While never widely publicized, this negative effect of statin drugs on

CoQ10 levels has actually been known for years. In fact, according to

Dr. Whitaker, in 1989 and 1990 Merck felt these effects were so

clearly important that they actually patented the use of CoQ10 in

combination with statin drugs. Products containing this important

combination should have hit the market soon afterward. However, Merck

chose not to exercise these patents, nor to help educate doctors and

patients on the potential dangers of ingesting statins without CoQ10.

 

" I'm at a loss as to why Merck refuses to exercise these patents or,

at the very least, add a warning label describing the potentially

detrimental effects of not taking CoQ10 with its statin products, "

Whitaker said.

 

One of Merck's patents actually states, " Since CoQ10 ... is of benefit

in congestive heart failure patients, the combination with HMG-CoA

reductase inhibitors (statin drugs) should be of value in such

patients who also have the added risk of high cholesterol. " Amazingly,

this patent was filed on June 12, 1990, and yet no drug reflecting

this combination has ever been produced!

 

An equally infuriating phenomenon is that, to this day, even with the

popularity and prescription numbers of statins soaring into the

stratosphere, many prescribing physicians and their patients remain

ignorant about these important findings.

 

In an effort to remedy this tragic situation three years ago, Dr.

Whitaker wrote a petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to

insist that all manufacturers of statin drugs include warning labels

with these medications, describing the importance of supplementing

CoQ10 along with their prescriptions. In his petition, Dr. Whitaker

recommends the " use of 100 to 200 mg per day of supplemental CoQ10, to

reduce the risk of statin-induced myopathies (muscle diseases), which

include cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure. "

 

As of yet, no such warning labels have been put to use.

 

More Merck Mischief

 

If the preceding information has helped enlighten you as to the

wayward behavior of Merck & Co., please also be aware that this has

not been their only foray down low-integrity pathways.

 

The following incidents have also been chronicled on this site. If you

would like to read the full stories summarized below, be sure to click

on the highlighted text within each description:

 

*

 

In 1991, nearly a decade before the first public disclosure, a

memo from Merck showed senior executives were concerned that infants

were getting an elevated dose of mercury in vaccinations containing

the preservative thimerosal. The memo disclosed that 6-month-old

children who received their shots on schedule would be receiving a

mercury dose nearly 87 times higher than guidelines for the maximum

daily consumption of mercury from fish. In addition, it included the

following recommendation: whenever possible, particularly among use in

infants and young children, vaccines with mercury should be eliminated.

*

 

In September 1999, amidst concerns about the risks of mercury in

childhood vaccines, Merck stated that the FDA had approved a

preservative-free version of their vaccine. And, despite Merck's news

release at that time, which stated, " Now Merck's infant vaccine line

is free of all preservatives, " the company continued to distribute

vaccines containing thimerosal until October 2001.

*

 

Undisclosed company documents also show that Merck was in the

process of beginning a major cardiovascular study of the drug Vioxx,

which the public now knows can cause serious cardiovascular side

effects, in 2002. However, Merck suddenly dropped the project just

before it was set to start. The data from this study, which would have

been released by March 2004, may have provided answers about Vioxx's

risks even earlier. It was not until September 2004 that Merck put a

stop to a separate study when patients in that trial experienced heart

attacks and strokes at twice the rate of those receiving a placebo.

 

While it would be difficult to argue that any major drug company

actually holds your health as its number-one priority, Merck's

behavior clearly identifies them as one of the most ethically

compromised drug companies. If you are a person who buys stocks, you

might want to avoid purchasing their stock. But wait, you might know

that already since they lost nearly $30 billion (more than 25 percent

of the company's value) after the Vioxx risks were uncovered and stand

to lose another $20 billion in the upcoming lawsuits.

 

Seems like they are reaping the fruits of the evil behavior they have

sown over the years.

 

Dr. Daniel Chong is a licensed naturopathic physician practicing

in Portland, OR. His practice focuses on the use of nutrition and

herbal medicine in the management of chronic illnesses. He may be

contacted at:

 

Chiropractic and Naturopathic Physicians Clinic

12195 SW Allen Blvd.

Beaverton, OR 97005

(503) 646-0697

www.danielchongnd.com

 

References

 

1.

 

Whitaker, J.M., M.D. Citizen petition before the Department of

Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration, November 24, 2002.

2.

 

Brown, M.S. Coenzyme Q. sub. 10 with HMG-CoA reductase

inhibitors. United States Patent 4,933, 165. June 12, 1990.