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Suits Accuse 2 Drugmakers Of Deception

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By LINDA A. JOHNSON, The Associated Press

Published: January 25, 2008

TRENTON, N.J. - The makers of popular cholesterol drugs Vytorin and Zetia - Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. - are being sued in states across the country over allegations that they misled consumers into thinking the drugs were more effective than generic ones.

Lawsuits have been filed in federal courts in states including California, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York and Ohio, according to court documents and interviews with attorneys. The consumer fraud lawsuits, which seek class-action status, were filed on behalf of patients and medical insurers who paid for the expensive cholesterol drugs.

The lawsuits come less than two weeks after Merck and Schering-Plough released a study that raised questions about whether Vytorin and Zetia are more effective than generic drugs. The companies have a joint venture that markets Vytorin, which combines Merck's Zocor and Schering-Plough's Zetia.

In the Florida lawsuit, Marion J. Greene, 72, of Niceville, alleges the drugmakers violated consumer protection laws in all 50 states through the marketing and sale of Vytorin and Zetia.

The Florida lawsuit seeks to recoup the difference in cost between generic cholesterol drugs that cost about one-third as much Vytorin or Zetia, as do lawsuits in other states. "The cost of those drugs is two-thirds more than the generic, which has the same benefit," said one of Greene's attorneys, Tim Howard of Tallahassee. He estimated that up to $3.5 billion might be recovered by all the lawsuits.

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