The Many Faces of Bayer
Bayer, the maker of the clotting drug Trasylol, has many faces. Last September, Bayer’s representatives stood before a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory board and argued against changing the drug’s warning label. What they didn’t tell the board was that a Bayer-funded study found that patients given Trasylol had a 64 percent higher risk of death than patients given a comparison drug.
In an about face, Bayer agreed in November to suspend marketing of the drug after a Canadian study linked the heart surgery drug with an increased risk of death.
But in December, a straight-faced Bayer sponsored a continuing medical education program that defended Trasylol’s safety and sought to undermine earlier studies, Pharmalot reports. During the 28-minute course, four doctors not only reassured the audience that Trasylol was safe, they criticized an earlier study that warned of dangerous side effects.
Pharmalot explains that while shipments of Trasylol ended in December, doctors were free to use the remaining inventories in hospitals. Once the supply is gone, if doctors believed the drug was safe, they might convince regulators to allow Trasylol back on the shelves.
Instead of facing the families who have lost loved ones as result of Trasylol, it seems that Bayer is more interested in boosting its bottom line and saving face with investors.
If you or a loved one suffered complications after taking Trasylol contact Carey & Danis. We can help. Carey & Danis is a national law firm that represents individuals injured by America's largest corporations.
For more information, fill out our online contact form or call Carey & Danis toll-free at 800-721-2519.
