Weston Lawyers: Drug Companies Greed Capitalizes on Public Need

We have shared with you in past postings how drug companies market their products so as to meet a “perceived need” of the general public. Since many people want a quick fix to their situation, they spend little time examining the potential side effects of most drugs. Therein lies the problem. It’s easy when you have a need to eliminate pain, deal with an ongoing illness or solve a problem to look only at the good side, but we would caution against that. Recently, several drug companies were in the news once again for improperly marketing some of their pharmaceuticals.

For example, Merck & Co Inc was recently warned by the FDA that their best selling asthma drug, Singulair should come with a caution. This is due to several reports that the drug caused problems such as aggression, suicidal thoughts and suicide, depression and even insomnia. The warning also included the fact that physicians should be aware that mental issues could arise and thus consider discontinuing the drugs if their patients should develop psychiatric symptoms. Oh really? To us, the fact that physicians would even have to be warned about discontinuing a prescription drug should side effects occur is the height of audacity and arrogance. Merck & Co. Inc. weren't the only wants to be warned. Manufacturers of the drug AstraZeneca were also told that it should come with a caution too. Is it just us or does it seem like more research needs to be done on these drugs?

Another company also made the news once again, Eli Lilly & Co. It seems that Lilly actively marketed and sold a drug, Zyprexa, with the claim that it helped to alleviate dementia symptoms in older patients. The problem? It didn’t, and recent unsealed documents proved that to be the case! What was Lilly thinking? It's clear that once again they sacrificed consumer safety on the altar of profitability.

That is why we at westonlawyers.com began this blog. We are well aware of the fact that the largest departments in these pharmaceutical companies are often that of marketing and public relations. Most times both of those departments move quickly to spin things in their favor when their pharmaceutical company is slapped on the wrist for wrongdoing. We're here to keep you, the consumer and other lawyers who are on the front lines fighting for the rights of consumers, informed. Should you have any stories like this, please e-mail them to us and we will be happy to respond to them here.