Eichen Levinson & Crutchlow LLP is part of the steering committee in a class action alleging fraud against both Merck and Schering-Plough, arising from a scheme to suppress critical information about the efficacy and safety of the drugs Vytorin and Zetia.

The claim states that in 2002, before they submitted to the FDA the New Drug Applications for Zetia or Vytorin, Defendants had begun a clinical trial, known as “ENHANCE.” It is alleged that the ENHANCE study which Defendants funded, and helped design, was intended to prove that Vytorin’s combination of Zetia and Zocor stops or reduces the growth of fatty arterial plaque better than Zocor alone and that this study, Defendants assumed, would give them the necessary basis for their claim that Vytorin is both superior to statins in reducing “bad” cholesterol and that taking Vytorin would reduce the risk of heart attacks more than taking statins alone.

The claim states that by early 2006, the Defendants learned that the study showed not only that Vytorin was less effective in reducing arterial plaque build-up than Zocor, but also that Vytorin posed serious safety concerns.

Essentially, the claim against the companies alleges that they did not release the results of the ENHANCE study when they became known in late 2005 or early 2006. Instead, Defendants undertook an aggressive strategy to conceal and suppress the negative ENHANCE results, and Defendants succeeded in this scheme until January 14, 2008, when the pressure to release the results could no longer be withstood.

This class action seeks the recovery of amounts paid for these medications during the period of their silence about, and active suppression of, the ENHANCE results, that they would not have sold if proper disclosures had been made. If you used these medications during the applicable time period you may potentially be a Plaintiff in this case. Contact the attorneys at Eichen Levinson & Crutchlow today to make sure your rights are protected.