N.J. Boots had became suspicious that the investigators were leaking information to rivals, says Knoll spokeswoman Linda Mayer. Although the company hired private investigators, they found no evidence to support these suspicions. Each year, doctors write 15 million prescriptions for hypothyroidism. Eight million of these are for Synthroid, says Knoll spokeswoman Linda Mayer. Without treatment, this metabolic disease can cause lethargy, stiffness, forgetfulness, madness, coma, and even death.
Drug therapy involves replacing the missing thyroid hormone with levothyroxine.
Natural thyroid hormone was used until Synthroid, the first synthetic version of the hormone, was introduced in 1958. No newer versions have matched Synthroid's sales. In 1990, Dong sent Boots the results. Then, a year ago, the Wall Street Journal ran a detailed account of the dispute. That article broke the impasse.