Johnson & Johnson's Natrecor Found to Be Safe - and Ineffective

Johnson & Johnson's heart drug Natrecor has been proven safe - so safe, in fact, that a study has concluded it is ineffective in treating acute and chronic heart disease. Alleviating fears that the drug caused kidney damage and produced an increased death rate, the American College of Cardiology, currently meeting in New Orleans, revealed yesterday the results of the latest study on the drug which showed it neither caused death, nor prolonged it in patients with severe heart disease. According to Dr. Clyde W. Yancy, Director of Baylor University Medical Center's Heart and Vascular Institute, "It is very clear [Natrecor's administration] did not result in any clinical benefit." said in Dallas. Johnson & Johnson hasn't announced a change to plans to begin a $100 million trial of the drug that will involve 7,000 patients in Europe, Canada and the U.S., to examine its safety and effectiveness, despite the latest clinical setback.

Sources: New York Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, Forbes
Commentary: Johnson & Johnson Subpoenaed on Marketing of Three Drugs • Goldman Remains Positive on Johnson & Johnson Despite FDA Ruling • Cramer's Take on JNJ
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). Competitors: Merck & Co. (MRK), Pfizer Inc. (PFE), Wyeth (WYE), Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP), Novartis AG (NVS), Teva (TEVA), AstraZeneca plc (AZN), GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK), Sanofi-Aventis (SNY), Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Amgen (AMGN). ETFs: iShares Dow Jones US Pharmaceuticals (IHE), Pharmaceutical HOLDRs (PPH)

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Comments

[Daniel Haszard:]

Eli Lilly drug company is being sued by AG's in 7 states for fraud over marketing of their Zyprexa drug.

Think about that,Daniel Haszard

2007 Mar 26 09:04 AM