When Drug Companies Fail To Tell The Truth, People Suffer
If
there’s one industry that has an obligation to tell the truth, it’s the
prescription drug industry. Yet when drug maker Merck discovered that
its painkilling drug Vioxx dramatically increased the risk of heart
attack and stroke, it suppressed the information. Within five years, an
estimated 140,000 Americans suffered heart disease due to their use of Vioxx and as many as 55,000 died.
Even more troubling is that though the Vioxx scandal has made headlines for months, Washington officials show little inclination to change the rules and force drug companies to disclose the truth before people suffer.
That’s why NCPIRG is working in Raleigh to pass a bill that would finally force the drug industry to tell the truth about their products—before the industry’s next scandal puts more lives at risk.
An Abuse Of Power, A Dereliction Of Duty
The
pharmaceutical industry is a powerful player in Washington, D.C.,
contributing $17 million to federal candidates in 2004 alone and
chipping in another $7.3 for the parties’ conventions. The industry
also spent $158 million on lobbying in 2004, employing more than two
lobbyists for every member of Congress.
Perhaps that’s why the industry has been able to block importation of affordable prescriptions from Canada, defeat measures that would have restricted excessive extentions on drug patents, and even get lawmakers to prohibit the government’s Medicare program from negotiating fairer prices on medicines for seniors.
Perhaps that’s also why, despite congressional investigations exposing Merck’s failure to tell the whole truth, most experts predict that neither the FDA nor Congress will change the rules governing disclosure of clinical trial results.
We Can Force The Drug Industry To Come Clean
But there is a way to get around the drug industry’s power in Washington.
NCPIRG is working with decision-makers in Raleigh to promote the Prescription Drug Right-To-Know act, which would force the drug industry to disclose the results of all of its clinical trials for drugs sold in North Carolina.
The results would be published online, so any doctor, patient or watchdog group could access the information. And of course, disclosing this information online would make it accessible to Americans in other states as well.
The Prescription Drug Right-To-Know Act
The
pharmaceutical industry should fully disclose the results of tests that
call into question the safety of their products—but they don’t. The
federal government should force the industry to change—but it hasn’t.
That’s why NCPIRG is working to pass model legislation called the Prescription Drug Right-To-Know Act.. The bill would require that the pharmaceutical industry certify in writing to the state that the results of all clinical trials conducted on its drugs are published in a publicly accessible federal database. This certification would be needed in order for a drug to be sold in North Carolina.
But the drug companies will oppose this bill, and will lobby heavily in Raleigh to defeat it. That’s why we need your help.