2. The study shows that there’s no reason to buy very-expensive Vytorin (Zetia + Zocor) when the generic for Zocor will do just as well. Additional billions in Big Pharma’s pockets for no more efficacy than adding some homeopathic snake oil to the generic.

“And if there’s one thing we’ve learned so far, it’s that washing machines and drugs are exactly the same.”
Actually, I believe the point was that fraud and fraud are exactly the same.

Mixed feelings about drug manufacturers. On the one hand, I truly hate their advertising that is often target healthy slim people who maybe don’t need the drugs. On the other hand, I have some idea about how much work is involved in making new drugs and how often something that looks promising initially turns out to be ineffective. One benefit of working in research is that sometimes you get researchers from other fields came and give lectures. A few years ago we had Merck’s director of research give a talk about what is involved in new drug research.

Leaving aside this study’s limitations – it’s not like it was Vytorin vs placebo in reducing heart attacks…. – I cannot help but sympathize with researchers who spent many years developing drugs only to find out they don’t work as expected.

Is law school tuition actually used for the purpose of teaching you poor arguments by analogy?

If you were to go down to Sears and buy a washing machine and then find out that it doesn’t work, you would expect a full refund. And you’d get it.