Drug Companies

The specter of researchers hiding damaging data when drug companies financed their clinical trials is once again haunting the medical publishing establishment. Last week, the editors of The New England Journal of Medicine accused Merck-funded researchers of not reporting three deaths in the trial that led to the approval of Vioxx, the pain reliever subsequently pulled from the market because it caused heart attacks in some patients. Medical editors are once again scrambling for better ways to manage these conflicts of interest.

WASHINGTON -- Not long after winning the Tour de France for the seventh time, cancer survivor Lance Armstrong led cyclists on a 3,300-mile trek, sponsored by drug manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., to promote clinical trials for new cancer drugs. Armstrong is a fixture in the company's print advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the disease. For now. The Food and Drug Administration will hold meetings today and tomorrow that could produce the first significant changes to drug advertising after months of criticism from Congress and other groups.

Sometimes, Sarah Hill gets tired of being strong, sick of being brave and courageous and determined. "Perky" -- now that would be OK. Ditto with "cute" and "smart." But on certain days, she's just had it up to here with "stalwart." "Her greatest desire is to be just like every other 10 1/2 -year-old girl. Her biggest frustration is that she's not," said her mother, Hope Barmat Hill. "The amazing thing that she doesn't get about herself at all, is that she's so much more because she has to come so much further each day."

WASHINGTON - After six months of review, the National Institutes of Health will retain its ban against agency scientists taking consulting fees from drug companies but will not require the scientists to sell all their industry stock holdings, the agency announced yesterday. Scientists at NIH also will now be allowed to accept fees for delivering lectures to some groups and for serving on data-safety-monitoring boards, so long as any financial support from the companies is first paid to an intermediary organization, such as a college or a hospital, as an "unrestricted grant."

ANGLETON, Texas - Jurors held drugmaker Merck & Co. liable yesterday for the heart-related death of a 59-year-old marathon runner who took its prescription painkiller Vioxx, awarding his widow $253.4 million. It was a staggering loss in the first of 4,200 suits that have been filed against Merck, and it could have far-reaching implications for the pharmaceutical industry, which has been under fire in recent months for its aggressive marketing tactics. Merck pulled Vioxx, which was being taken by 20 million people, from the market in September after a study found that its use increased the risk of heart attack and stroke.

WASHINGTON - Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drug maker, said yesterday that it will not advertise new prescription drugs for at least six months and will spend that time informing doctors about the products. The company said it also has retooled its print advertising for consumers to include information about alternative treatments to drugs and more detailed explanations of drug risks, and to promote products such as Viagra, its impotency drug, only on TV programs with predominantly adult, or "age-appropriate," audiences.

WASHINGTON - Pharmaceutical companies and the Food and Drug Administration announced separate steps yesterday aimed at curbing misleading advertising that can lead to unnecessary prescriptions. The industry's trade group issued voluntary guidelines for marketing prescription drugs to consumers, while the FDA said it planned to take a look at advertising practices, the impact of the ads and the agency's monitoring of them. The announcements come as drug companies and regulators face mounting criticism from members of Congress and consumer groups.

PHILADELPHIA -- Suffering from colorectal cancer, Tom McAuliffe was in such pain that he had to sleep standing up, propped against a couch. Now he can rest easier, thanks to a new pain medicine derived from an unlikely source: the venom of a snail from a coral reef off the Philippines. When the drug received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration in December, it was believed to be the first time the agency has approved a medicine that is an exact copy of a chemical found in the ocean.

BOSTON - You have to say that the drug companies asked for it. I mean really asked for it. Remember when Viagra first came on the market? The spokesman was Bob Dole, veteran, Senate leader and prostate cancer survivor, who urged other men to talk to their doctors about erectile dysfunction. The slogan was: Courage. Fast-forward through the millennium. The spokesman now is a hunky 40-something guy and a slogan that says: "Keep that spark alive." The message today is less about disease and more about delight.

Faced with patent expirations on highly profitable drugs, big pharmaceutical companies are turning to small biotechs to restock their medicine chests. The latest example came when Pfizer Inc. agreed recently to buy Vicuron Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $1.9 billion. Vicuron, based in King of Prussia, Pa., worked on antibiotics and drugs for fungal infections, key areas for Pfizer. The acquisition followed one in April by GlaxoSmithKline PLC, which agreed to buy Corixa Corp., a Seattle company focused on vaccines.