Merck’s $5.7b Diabetes Drug Under Fire for Cancer Risks...

General Discussion Media & Awareness
#1

The New York Times reports that:

“Dr. Peter C. Butler initially declined a request by the drug maker Merck to test whether its new diabetes drug, Januvia, could help stave off the disease in rats. ‘I said, I’m not interested in your money, go away,’ Dr. Butler recalled.

“Merck no doubt now wishes it had. When Dr. Butler finally agreed to do the study, he found worrisome changes in the pancreases of the rats that could lead to pancreatic cancer. The discovery, in early 2008, turned Dr. Butler into a crusader whose follow-up studies now threaten the future of not only Januvia but all the drugs in its class, which have sales of more than $9 billion annually and are used by hundreds of thousands of people with Type 2 diabetes.”

Also note that:

“Forty-three suits claim that Januvia caused pancreatic cancer,” according to the latest quarterly reports from Merck.

The full story here:

nytimes.com/2013/05/31/busin … ml?hp&_r=0

#2

The Star-Ledger, Merck’s hometown paper, now following the New York Times’ lead, reporting that:

“Merck’s juggernaut diabetes drug Januvia now faces renewed scrutiny five years after an endocrinologist found that lab rats given the medicine were more susceptible to pancreatic cancer.”

The Star-Ledger’s story here:

nj.com/business/index.ssf/20 … via_f.html

#3

Jesus Christ… When we think we ve heard enough about this company, there is more. They kill more people than any terrorist. How about a war on corrupt pharma companies then? Just shut them all. The worst part is that they are investing in drugs to be taken daily, as a false preventive measure.

#4

Agreed: the more I study up on Merck, the more frightened I become – not of their massive legal department, but of their consumer products.

Now, if/when I take prescription medications – or even buy something over the counter – I always check to see if Merck is the manufacturer. If they are, then I won’t touch it.

#5

Additional coverage:

bostonglobe.com/business/201 … story.html

fiercepharma.com/story/outsp … 2013-05-31

ycharts.com/analysis/story/the_p … _no_1_drug

lawyersandsettlements.com/ar … ajz_pzCb0Q

#6

Thank you Pr123 you do well posting all the info you do.

#7

Add Reuters to the list of media outlets that picked up the Januvia story:

reuters.com/article/2013/05/ … 5120130531

And God bless freedom of the press.

#8

Add Seeking Alpha, an influential news and information site for stock traders, to the media outlets picking up the NY Times’ Januvia story:

seekingalpha.com/article/1479511 … icle_title

Good to see awareness of this important story being sustained in week No. 2.

#9

From the noted investor site Seeking Alpha today:

“Onglyza, a diabetes drug co-marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca, failed to reduce the risk of heart attacks and related disease compared with a placebo in a big clinical trial. The drug was approved by the FDA in 2009 to treat type 2 diabetes, but required a large clinical trial to assess its cardiovascular safety. The outcome disappointed those hoping for a boost to the market for type 2 diabetes pills, and could have implications for other companies with similar drugs, including Merck’s blockbuster Januvia.”

Meanwhile, “a similar heart study of Merck’s Januvia in more than 14,000 patients, called TECOS, is being conducted with results expected next year.”

The full story here:

cnbc.com/id/100828533

seekingalpha.com/currents/post/1 … c_readmore