This is a very clear accounting of the lack of added benefit when a statin medication is coupled with a medication to block absorption of cholesterol from the digestive tract. The story was well balanced including comments from both company officials and independent experts. There is ongoing discussion in the medical literature about whether the benefits from statin medication may go beyond their impact on cholesterol. The results from the ENHANCE trial, the study discussed in this story, likely will be added to this conversation. However – an important shortcoming of this story is that it neglected to mention that the study results it presented have not been published or even presented at a meeting. The story mentions the "long-delayed publication" of results but didn’t make clear that they still haven’t been published. And the story never tells us the source of the information about the unpublished data.
There was also no mention of the harms of treatment other than that the combination medication studied failed to provide greater reduction of cardiovascular risk than from a statin alone. This is another instance in which reporting on unpublished data is troublesome. What harms surfaced in this trial?
The cost of this treatment (two medications in one pill) was provided as well as the costs for other cholesterol lowering medication.
The story was clear about the benefits of this treatment (i.e. that the outcomes from use of the combination medication were no better than a statin alone).
There was really no mention of the harms of treatment other than that the combination medication studied failed to provide greater reduction of cardiovascular risk than from a statin alone. This is where reporting on unpublished data is troublesome. What harms surfaced in this trial?
The story provided background information about the ENHANCE trial and something about the results. Unfortunately, the ENHANCE study results have not been presented or published. As a result, readers have no ability to validate the story or to obtain additional information. The story should have been more clear about the fact that the data have still not yet been published. They story refers to the "long delayed publication of its results" but it may not be clear to all readers that they’re still not available.
This story did not engage in overt disease mongering.
This story included interview quotes from individuals involved in the field of cardiovascular outcomes research, cardiologists, and company spokespeople.
This was story about the failure of one combination therapy to outperform the single, simpler, less expensive therapy. It did not, however, provide information about other means of lowering risks from cardiovascular disease. These should have been mentioned in order to put the results of the ENHANCE study into perspective.
The drug detailed in the story was described as heavily marketed direct to consumers and several clinicians’ quotes included in the story questioned the wisdom of prescribing this medication.
The story was clear about the novelty aspect of the product reported on. What is important for consumers is that although the combination may be novel, the treatment of elevated cholesterol and reduction in plaque burden may be accomplished using either one of the test drugs (simvastatin) or one of the other statins.
We have problems with the fact that we don’t know the source of the story. Was it the "conference hosted by Morgan Stanley earlier this month" that the story mentions? We don’t know. But because the ENHANCE trial data hasn’t been published, we should have been told the source. Nonethless, because we have no direct evidence of any language being lifted directly from a company news release, we give this criterion a shrug-of-the-shoulder and an N/A score.
Systematic, Criteria-Driven
Puleeeeease... this 'game changer' weight loss drug causes more nausea and vomiting than a placebo. Some game, some change. My friend Gary would spank you for using the eighth word medical reporters should never, ever use. @garyschwitzer @thackerpd
https://www.healthnewsreview.org/toolkit/just-journalists-writing-tips-case-studies/7-words-and-more-you-shouldnt-use-in-medical-news/ https://twitter.com/OttawaCitizen/status/1361426796126830597
A scary @statnews Op-Ed warns that govt attempts to rein in Pharma may cut off access to "life-changing" drugs.
It takes @garyschwitzer to let us know: the author spent 10 years as Pfizer's public-policy chief. https://twitter.com/garyschwitzer/status/1360325022578053123
.@TranspariMED criticizes STAT op-ed for not disclosing pharma funding of author’s institute - similar to criticism we’ve made of STAT op-eds in the past. @transparify @ThinkTankWatch @icer_review https://www.healthnewsreview.org/2021/02/transparency-watchdog-criticizes-stats-non-disclosure-on-pro-pharma-op-ed/
Comments
Please note, comments are no longer published through this website. All previously made comments are still archived and available for viewing through select posts.
Our Comments Policy
But before leaving a comment, please review these notes about our policy.
You are responsible for any comments you leave on this site.
This site is primarily a forum for discussion about the quality (or lack thereof) in journalism or other media messages (advertising, marketing, public relations, medical journals, etc.) It is not intended to be a forum for definitive discussions about medicine or science.
We will delete comments that include personal attacks, unfounded allegations, unverified claims, product pitches, profanity or any from anyone who does not list a full name and a functioning email address. We will also end any thread of repetitive comments. We don”t give medical advice so we won”t respond to questions asking for it.
We don”t have sufficient staffing to contact each commenter who left such a message. If you have a question about why your comment was edited or removed, you can email us at feedback@healthnewsreview.org.
There has been a recent burst of attention to troubles with many comments left on science and science news/communication websites. Read “Online science comments: trolls, trash and treasure.”
The authors of the Retraction Watch comments policy urge commenters:
We”re also concerned about anonymous comments. We ask that all commenters leave their full name and provide an actual email address in case we feel we need to contact them. We may delete any comment left by someone who does not leave their name and a legitimate email address.
And, as noted, product pitches of any sort – pushing treatments, tests, products, procedures, physicians, medical centers, books, websites – are likely to be deleted. We don”t accept advertising on this site and are not going to give it away free.
The ability to leave comments expires after a certain period of time. So you may find that you’re unable to leave a comment on an article that is more than a few months old.
You might also like