Cancer fears may spark decline in Vytorin sales
Sales of Merck & Co and Schering-Plough Corp’s Vytorin, falling after data earlier this year questioned its effectiveness against a cheaper cholesterol drug, may slide further on cancer fears raised in a new study.
By Bloomberg |
NEW YORK/MINNEAPOLIS: Sales of Merck & Co and Schering-Plough Corp���s Vytorin, falling after data earlier this year questioned its effectiveness against a cheaper cholesterol drug, may slide further on cancer fears raised in a new study.
The trial, called SEAS, showed a higher cancer rate among patients on Vytorin, though an analysis of other studies showed no such risk, researchers said. Findings also showed the drug didn���t prevent complications from heart valve disease.
Researchers who conducted the SEAS trial said the elevated number of cancer cases could be due to chance. Still, the possibility of a new side effect for a treatment that hasn���t been shown to improve heart health, will make doctors more reluctant to prescribe it, analysts said.
Prescriptions for Vytorin have fallen by a third since a study, dubbed Enhance, in January showed the drug may work no better than an older, cheaper pill.
���Physicians worried about litigation risks are unlikely to choose Vytorin as a first choice,��� said Les Funtleyder, a health-care strategist with Miller Tabak in New York. ���I suspect the public will also not respond well to the data.���
Schering-Plough, of Kenilworth, New Jersey, fell $2.49, or 12%, to $18.95 on Monday on New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck fell 6.2%.
The trial, called SEAS, showed a higher cancer rate among patients on Vytorin, though an analysis of other studies showed no such risk, researchers said. Findings also showed the drug didn���t prevent complications from heart valve disease.
Researchers who conducted the SEAS trial said the elevated number of cancer cases could be due to chance. Still, the possibility of a new side effect for a treatment that hasn���t been shown to improve heart health, will make doctors more reluctant to prescribe it, analysts said.
Prescriptions for Vytorin have fallen by a third since a study, dubbed Enhance, in January showed the drug may work no better than an older, cheaper pill.
���Physicians worried about litigation risks are unlikely to choose Vytorin as a first choice,��� said Les Funtleyder, a health-care strategist with Miller Tabak in New York. ���I suspect the public will also not respond well to the data.���
ADVERTISEMENT
Schering-Plough on Monday reported a 19% drop in second-quarter profit as Vytorin sales fell 9% to $1.2 billion. Merck, which posted a 5% increase in quarterly profit on rising sales of its diabetes pill Januvia, said it wouldn���t reaffirm its 2008 earnings forecast because of the SEAS study. Both companies beat analysts��� estimates.Schering-Plough, of Kenilworth, New Jersey, fell $2.49, or 12%, to $18.95 on Monday on New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck fell 6.2%.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
