Pharmaceutical Industry discussion, review, analysis, news and information.

In response to the dismal results of a study released last week Schering-Plough and Merck Co.are publicly defending their cholestorol treatments, Vytorin and Zetia. In an attempt to stem the damage the negative publicity surrounding the results of a failed study, both companies took out advertisements in leading newspapers.

The companies took out a full page ad in The New York Times saying that Vytorin and Zetia users "may be worried about recent news stories questioning the benefit of these medicines...on the basis of a single study that has generated a lot of confusion." The ad urges users to follow their doctor's recomendations and emphasizes the drugs' ability to lower LDL cholesterol.

"All of us at Merck and Schering-Plough proudly stand behind the established efficacy and safety profiles of Zetia and Vytorin," the ad says. Similar ads also appeared in the Star-Ledger of Newark, NY and the Wall Street Journal.

[Source: Yahoo News]