SIGN THE PETITION Court let Merck hide secrets about a popular drug’s risks, SIGN THE PETITION

General Discussion
#1

Critical information about Merck messing with data on the safety of propecia is being witheld from the public. Revealing this evidence can mean a lot to this community. If this data reveals, we have a good chance of really being recognized and getting more funding. I will post below the article that talks about this, for the people who have not read about it yet. Could people also share this on the hairlossforum and reddit, I am not active there. Thanks everyone!

Petition: http://chng.it/LpNnhkfc99

Article: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-courts-secrecy-propecia/

7 Likes
#2

Just as a head’s up, you spelled the judge’s name wrong in the text and he will probably be the one who makes the decision on this :stuck_out_tongue:

For anybody who signs this, please don’t write things like “Fuck Merck”. The reason these additional documents would be unveiled isn’t because the judge is against Merck but that there is real public interest in knowing what Merck found in the clinical trials so doctors and patients can make better healthcare decisions. Although Merck deserves to be further embarrassed, that is unlikely to factor into the judge’s decision. He is more likely to be concerned about his own reputation.

8 Likes
#3

Get a native speaker to edit it. Effected should be affected.

#4

Signed

#5

Yep, his name is Judge Brian Cogan (which was mispelled in the petition as previously mentioned). This judge is big time. He is a judge at the federal level and was appointed by George Bush (not @Dubya_B :wink: ) in 2006. This was the judge in charge of the El Chapo case, so he must be incredibly high-ranked and trusted within the legal community. (On a side tangent, I’d be absolutely terrified to be El Chapo’s judge. In El Chapo’s case, the jurors were given anonymity and weren’t shown to the courtroom to protect their lives and families.)

Hopefully he hears us out, but either way, we must play it especially professionally.

1 Like
#6

I’m with you.

#7

Is it possible to email the judge as well and tell him how dangerous this stuff is and maybe let him know about the forum and the many who are suffering?

#8

I would recommend against that because it might frustrate the judge and make him less likely to do it. He’s going to look at the documents and make a decision. Keep in mind he already oversaw the case which ended very favorably for Merck so I am not sure he is going to be so sympathetic to plaintiffs or PFS patients.

I sent the journalist a message asking if he would like help recruiting doctors to support the court motion and have not heard back so I am interpreting that as though Retuers has things under control.

#9

Alright hopefully the judge will understand I hope something is done

2 Likes
#10

Yeah my bad did the most I could when it comes to grammar, it’s not my first language.

1 Like
#12

So @Greek pointed out with the judges name being wrong and all we might want to do this over. It’s sad but I can’t edit the text anymore. Is there a native speaker who wants to make a 2nd one?

#13

I didn’t want to criticise @AnhedonicApe so I sent him a message privately.

For the record, I think that if this petition is worth doing, then getting the basic details correct would be a must - getting the basics wrong makes us look silly.

Working out how to get more people to sign, before posting the petition, etc. Would also be high on the list of things to do.

2 Likes
#14

signed and donated the 3 bucks. On the beginning of the petition, take a look at using “effected” vs “affected”.

2 Likes
#15

Donated 3 bucks? What? Haha did u donate to the site? I have fallen in such a trap before too

#16

I didn’t mean to criticize if it came across that way. I do agree something like this needs to reflect well on the community or it will be counterproductive.

As I mentioned, I reached out and offered to help coordinate something with the foundation but I didn’t receive a response. I’ve looked into this a little bit and it seems like having a respected independent news organization file a motion to intervene will be more likely to succeed than a potentially interested party. I’m concerned that it might make a mess if everybody starts contacting the court. Those guys filing the motion know what they’re doing. There is certainly no guarantee this will be successful but it will be a big coup for the public interest and public safety if Judge Cogan decides to unseal the documents.

#17

Sorry @Frustrated, I haven’t followed this topic. I wasn’t referring to anything if it seemed like I was.

I was merely saying that a petition like this, that aims to reach out to the wider world should have the details correct, or it makes it easy to ridicule.

#18

I will sign the petition tomorrow, I urge everyone to also do it. This might be our chance to finally get the ball rolling into research for a possible cure.

#19

Signed. Thanks for the effort Anhedonic!

#20

Would have been good. Going to let this one go but please, if you’re planning to do something useful (ie a project to drive awareness, not a daily theory or “cure”) that requires recruitment of our userbase, please contact a moderator so they can approve it and help you do it properly. We have high standards for copy and accuracy in what we put out and I think this is very important.

5 Likes
#21

Hi Frustrated,

Could you kindly fill-in the survey ?

Thank you.

1 Like