Recently, drug manufacturer Merck and chemical research company Schering-Plough announced a new medication to combat high cholesterol. Zetia, known chemically as Ezetimibe, is an anti-hyperlipidemic medication, which is used to lower cholesterol levels. Zetia is marketed as an alternative to statin therapy. It acts by decreasing cholesterol absorption in the intestine. Zetia has also been combined with statin therapy in a single pill marketed as Vytorin.
But, the company continued to delay the study's results. It was not until the media picked up on the company's suspect behavior and delay that the announcement came for the final deadline "soon" in December of 2007. Results of the trial study weren't made available publicly until January 2008. The results were decidedly negative by most accounts, as reported by the media including The New York Times. In a study to specifically measure the reduction of the growth of fatty plaques in arteries, both Zetia and Vytorin were shown to increase the fatty plaque growth in the patients' arteries, almost doubling the rate of growth when compared to another leading high-cholesterol medication.
The results of the study quickly were made available to representatives in Congress. The chairmen and CEOs of Schering-Plough and Merck were contacted by several congressional figures including the chairmen of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and its Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations regarding the drugs' misrepresentation to patients. The correspondence calls into question the lighthearted nature of the Zetia and Vytorin commercials and the misleading information they insinuate. Additionally, the congressmen make inquiry to the ads continued use in television advertising claiming the exceeding success of the drug over traditional statin drug therapy, while they possessed the results of the ENHANCE trial for the two years contradicting that very fact.
Although, this outcome resulted in the idea that heart complications could have been avoided. Recently, Zetia lawsuits have been filed in several states, charging that Merck and Schering-Plough deliberately withheld the information from the ENHANCE trial proving that Zetia provided no reduction in the frequency of cardiovascular events. Nor did they report information suggesting Zetia side effects where Zetia could be the cause of serious liver damage. Thus far, the lawsuits seek compensation for the cost of the medication to the consumers named as plaintiffs, however, this is only the beginning, as it is highly likely that that many Zetia lawsuits claiming health complications and damages will emerge.
It would be wise for anyone who has firsthand experience with potential complications arising from taking Zetia or Ezetimibe in any form to contact their health care provider as soon as possible, and to seriously consider contacting a Zetia lawyer in order to recoup any damages you or someone who has been affected by this medication could be entitled to through a Zetia law suit.
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