Apr
24
A Vioxx Repeat?
Filed Under Other - Health
Raptiva is a drug from the pharmaceutical company Genentech that has recently come under fire. It was first approved several years ago to control the symptoms of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. It is an injectable protein that targets a specific gene that controls the immune system as it related to skin growth. And as with any immunosuppressive drug (drugs that limit the body’s immune system) there are risks involved. Unfortunately a few people were prescribed the drug that already had weakened immune systems. And three of these people got a specific brain virus and ended up dying. That’s three people who should not have been on the drug anyway out of how many people that truly benefitted from the drug? Anyway, Genentech is pulling Raptiva off of the market effective June 1st. 2009.
And this reminds me of the Vioxx fiasco that Merck had a few years back. Now the lawyers are going to hop on this bandwagon for all it is worth. Just like the Vioxx lawsuits, these lawyers will be advertising on TV looking for anyone who was on the drug so they can make money in yet another stupid lawsuit. And who pays for this? We all do because when the pharmaceutical companies get hit in the pocketbook, it trickles down to us consumers!
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2 Responses to “A Vioxx Repeat?”
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Part of the responsibility should go on the shoulders of the doctors. If the doctors know that their patients had weakened immune systems, they should not have prescribed the drug. Of course, if this was not a known side effect, then further study needs to be done to find out what happened.
i want it. this sucks.