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Investigation underway in Merck's best selling Singulair and reported Suicides.
Last year, the big Pharma Corp Merck was mighty slow in informing the public of the reported dangers of using their popular Vioxx Drug. This time around things are playing out a little differently.
In the last 12 months Merck has changed the labeling of it's currently most popular drug, Singular (an allergy and asthma medication) four times! Keep in mind that the FDA approved this drug, and it is in wide use among the America public. And now the FDA said it is investigating a possible link between Singulair and suicide.
Changing the label seems a bit like closing the barn door after the horse got out. But at least they're still rakeing in the dollars... and that's what counts, right?
FDA said it is reviewing reports involving mood changes, suicidal behavior and suicide in patients who have taken Singulair.
Other side effects found on the label as of late: tremors, anxiousness, depression, headache, flu, abdominal pain and cough, suicidal thinking and behavior, and the new addition, suicide.
Merck has been asked by the FDA to look deeper into it's data to see if there is any relationship between Singulair and possible links to suicide, which is a little like asking politicians to vote on whether they should receive a pay increase. The results are not usually surprising. Happily, the FDA posted on it's website that it's own scientists are also looking into it, but that it could take up to nine months before they can draw any conclusions. Hhmmmm... just long enough for a couple of backroom deals?
Merck officials, on the other hand, have stressed that the FDA's inquiry is based on reports, not clinical studies. They are quick to claim that none of the subjects in any of their own trials have committed suicide.
First approved in 1998, Singulair had sales of $4.3 billion last year.
In a released statement the FDA says: "Patients should not stop taking Singulair before talking to their doctor." They also altered doctors to watch for symptoms of suicidal behavior. Considering how quickly the medical profession processes patients, it certainly would be a good idea for friends and family to watch for symptoms of this kind of behavior coming from anyone on this drug.
