Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis, makers of the anti-clotting drug Plavix, continue to run TV commercials that include statements refuted by scientific research.
One such ad says, "Plavix, in combination with aspirin and other heart medicines, helps provide better protection against heart attack and stroke than aspirin and other heart medicines alone.”
Compare with that with the lead in a Wall Street Journal story just last week: “In a setback for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Sanofi-Aventis SA, a large study found that adding the blood thinner Plavix to aspirin wasn't significantly more effective than aspirin alone in preventing heart attacks, strokes or death from cardiovascular disease in a broad group of high-risk patients.The findings put a dent in the hopes of the companies, which co-market the medicine and funded the study, to widen the market for Plavix, which already is a blockbuster.”
The ad is also guilty of “disease-mongering,” scaring viewers by trying to make them think they are all vulnerable, with lines such as: “Janet is a formidable woman. But she was no match for something smaller than the tip of a pen.” In other words, a clot. In other words, something so small it could be lurking inside all of us. Why aren't we all on Plavix?
And where is the FDA's oversight of such an ad? Oftentimes by the time the FDA catches up to an erroneous claim in a drug ad, the ad has run its course and the company is on to the next campaign.
Posted by schwitz at March 21, 2006 07:28 AM | TrackBackRight on !
As I read the WSJ report, I wondered what would happen to this bit of news and am heartened by your response. There are more things wrong than right with these systems.