For those of you who think vaccines aren't big business think again

Editorial -

It has long been believed that vaccine manufacturers operate on low profit margins and only engage in vaccine manufacturing for the good of public heath.  The following news reports refute that belief:

• Merck & Co. has entered a deal with nonprofit vaccine maker MassBiologics to distribute its vaccine against tetanus and diphtheria, in the big drugmaker’s latest move to remain dominant in vaccines.

Read more about Merck

• Novartis profits up 49% in first quarter largely due to $1.1 billion of sales from pandemic flu vaccines.

Read more about Novartis

Any business major would tell you that vaccine market is great for any drug manufacturer. First everyone thinks vaccines are 100% safe.  Doctors are educated enough to know that every drug has a risk of injury but that fact is not communicated to the American public.  Second, and more importantly, there is little risk of liability as most cases involving vaccine related injuries must go through the vaccine injury compensation program. This means that drug manufacturers can operate without serious risk of retribution for harming the American public. So, when it comes to vaccines, we have to rely on the FDA to protect us from harmful vaccines.  We all know how well that works.

[Read with sarcasm] I mean look how well the FDA protected us from Merck & Co.’s Vioxx. That crazy New England Journal of Medicine was, well, crazy to say that Merck withheld data from clinical trials. Did you know that it was only after the first Vioxx heart attack case went to trial that Merck’s deceit was discovered?

[Read with more sarcasm] And what about the FDA’s bang-up job in handling the increased risk of sudden cardiac death in children who use ADHD drugs like Adderall and Ritalin?  A little known drug called Ritalin was deemed safe and effective by the FDA in 1954 and the label contained no warning of sudden cardiac death in children.  It was only after their diligent work in managing adverse event reports that a warning for sudden cardiac death was added over 50 years later in 2006.  I guess fifty years of unexplained sudden cardiac death in children was not a big deal to the FDA.  Or maybe it was because they did not get on the back of one of the largest manufacturers of Ritalin (Novartis) about its adverse event reporting until 1998.

Point is don’t be a sheep.  Just because someone tells you things are a certain way you are not obligated to believe them.  Think for yourself.