July 16th, 2008
Did Sally Field break grandma's bone?
A new study indicates bone-density drugs like Fosamax, Boniva and Actonel may actually promote a rare type of bone fracture.
All three drugs are bisphosphonates, and they are being heavily promoted with TV ads. (You may recall the Boniva ads with Sally Field.) The market for such drugs is now estimated at $3 billion.
Scientists speculate that, in some women, microscopic cracks from normal wear and tear may not be repaired when the process of bone remodeling is suppressed.
While bisphosphonates seem to reduce the chances of fractures in the vast majority of patients, some doctors are now suggesting their use should be restricted to five years, so that the natural process of bone remodeling can continue.
The story of problems with bisphosphonates is troubling on two counts:
- It’s bad for the drug companies, which keep losing hot-selling drugs to later studies showing dangers.
- It’s bad for celebrities, who wind up being tarred with whatever problems result. Remember Dorothy Hamill for Vioxx, or those hormone replacement ads with Lauren Hutton?
Sally Field was already drawing a lot of flack for the Boniva ads, which critics called sappy. Some of the criticism is political, but critics of the drug can quickly morph into general Field haters.
Spokesmen, and spokeswomen, can have their careers tarnished because they choose to believe what their clients tell them.
I have no doubt Sally Field honestly believes in Boniva as a solution to “bone health.” I think Robert Jarvik honestly believes in Lipitor, too. But you take a risk when do that.
In my view the real issue is how Wall Street pushes companies to make the most of new drugs as soon as they are approved, and how the tools of Madison Avenue are then deployed to make simple points over complex issues.
Drugs aren’t like cars, or beer. Their interactions with the body are complicated and not straightforward. That’s why drug advertising used to be restricted. But the industry insisted on giving consumers “freedom to choose.”
And when they choose not to believe anything the industry says, because they’ve been burned so many times?
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist since 1978, and has covered technology since 1982. He launched the Interactive Age Daily, the first daily coverage of the Internet to launch with a magazine, in September 1994. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 07/16/08
