Prescription for Profit: The FDA’s Alarming Record of Lethal Drugs on the Market

If the FDA is supposed to protect us, why are dangerous drugs making it to our medicine cabinets?

In the last 14 years, there have been over 15,000 FDA-approved drugs recalled from the market in the U.S.

• 1636 - Class I violations, a dangerous or defective drug that could cause severe health complications, or death.

• 12,595 - Class II violations, a drug with the potential to cause a temporary or serious health problem.

That's over 14,000 pharmaceutical products sold to treat health conditions, that are causing illness, disease and death.

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Vioxx is a great example of drug recalls. Vioxx was a non-steroidal pain medication sold between 1999 and 2004. It generated $11 billion in sales before it was pulled from the market for causing cardiovascular disease and heart attacks.

• 88,000 - The amount of people estimated to have had heart attacks from taking Vioxx.

• 38,000 - The amount of people estimated to have died from taking Vioxx.

For perspective, 2,753 people died in the WTC attacks on 9/11, Vioxx took nearly 14 times the amount of lives.

Merck, the maker of Vioxx, had to pay out $4.85 billion in personal injury lawsuits and $950 million to settle criminal and civil charges related to illegal promotion and marketing.

That left Merck with over $6 billion in gross revenue, from a drug that injured and killed over 88,000 people.

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How are drugs that are injuring and killing people getting approved, and making it to market?

Well, it might have to do with the fact that 75% of the funding for the FDA's drug division comes from pharmaceutical companies.

Conflicts of interest, folks.

If the FDA continues to prioritize corporate interests over public safety, who will step up to protect our health? Until transparency and accountability become non-negotiable, the question remains: how many more lives will pay the price?