We all are bombarded with the advertisements, glowing clinical trial results, reports of doctors who dismiss adverse statin side affects, etc, so here is some non-profit, opposing information.
I cannot tolerate statins, but if I could, I would most likely be taking them. This is a $20-$40 billion industry. Many desperate heart disease patients are becoming obsessed with lowering their cholesterol
The British Medical Journal is one (the only?) of the organizations that have started to detect and report fraudulent clinical trials and the methods used. I have not seen anything from the BMJ accusing statin manufacturers, but if I had the time and money to buy and read all of the reports, I may have found something there. I don't know. I guess it would have hit the news by now.
There is supposedly an article in the NY Times about how money is transferred from pharm manufacturers to doctors through "foundations" set up by doctors. These "foundations" fund research and development for medical groups that have these same doctors on their payroll, and these bribes then become deductible as "charity"... I paraphrased this from what a friend posted elsewhere. I have NOT read the article.
People's health should not be jeopardized due to a company trying to increase the price per share of their stock. If you want to see what drives pharm companies to increase profits and capital, read the Wall Street Journal. Medicinal mistakes are treated as a financial failure that drives the price per share of stock down, not as a human tradegy.
http://www.statinalert.org/mainpage.html
Post Edited (Aldo) : 7/6/2006 11:34:27 AM (GMT-6)