Here's a news item that demonstrates what I mean:
The results of a clinical trial released Monday found that Vytorin did not reduce the buildup of harmful plaque in arteries any better than a much cheaper generic drug.
But the study was completed in April 2006. Typically, results are released in three to six months. Merck and Schering-Plough, the two companies that developed and marketed the drug, withheld test results for 19 months.
Additional clinical trials are often started after a drug is on the market so companies can make bigger claims and gain more market share. In Vytorin's case, it didn't work out that way. "The company's goal in doing this kind of study is to show their drug was better than the alternative drug. And they failed to do that," said Dr. Brian Strom of the University of Pennsylvania.
Companies are required to release test results to the FDA. But the FDA is not allowed to tell anyone else. So "disappointing" results have often been hidden, even from the doctors who prescribe the medications.
"The FDA considers the results from a clinical trial to belong to the company, that it's a 'trade secret' even if it's about a drug not working," said Dr. Jerry Avorn of Brigham & Women's Hospital.
The best part of it is that the government agency that is supposed to regulate the drug industry has actually been covering up for it.
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