On
September 31, 2004 the pharmaceutical company Merck
recalled one of its most popular drugs, Vioxx.
The company’s research showed that taking
Vioxx increased patients' likelihood of heart attack
or stroke twofold .
Current estimates have linked 55,000 deaths
from heart attacks or stroke with usage of the drug.
As with most recalls, the Vioxx case can be
linked with multiple failures both of the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) and the pharmaceutical
industry itself.
The
Vioxx case, however, presents a particularly
interesting, and possibly alarming, problem.
Upon being recalled, Vioxx was one of the most
popular prescription drugs sold and was being used by
close to two million people.
One reason for the drug’s popularity was the
exorbitant amount of money spent on
advertising—especially direct to consumer
advertising (DTCA).
In
2000 Merck made Vioxx the most heavily advertised drug
on the market, spending $160.8 million on DTCA.
That same year its sales increased by 360%.
It is clear that many consumers seeking pain
medications were exposed to Vioxx advertisements, and
that these ads influenced many of them to obtain a
prescription for the drug.
The information in these ads tragically led
some patients to ask for a drug that ended up killing
them. Although
a worst-case scenario, the Vioxx case demands a
re-examination of the informational benefit to
consumers of DTCA of prescription drugs. Next