Merck’s financial problems worsen as Vioxx lawsuits mount
According to Merck, it is being buried under a mountain of Vioxx related lawsuits as more and more Vioxx victims come forward to sue the company for causing as many as 60,000 deaths. The FDA estimates that 140,000 personal injuries have been caused by Vioxx. Legal experts put the total number of expected lawsuits at over 100,000 and so far 4,100 lawsuits have been filed.
The first ever trial in the case of Carol Ernst is underway in Texas and so far the evidence presented by Mark Lanier, the plaintiff’s attorney, has built a solid case proving that Merck knew even before Vioxx was commercially launched that it was a dangerous drug. The company decided not only to market the drug aggressively but also abandoned any efforts to confirm the safety of the drug (fearing that facts may be detrimental to sales). Lanier also convinced the jury that Merck lied to doctors when it reported the cardiovascular risks of Vioxx.
In never-before disclosed evidence, Lanier also presented documents and videos that clearly show that Merck deliberately hid risks from patients, doctors, FDA, and maybe even its own staff. Using games like Dodge Ball, Merck trained its salespeople to avoid questions related to dangers of Vioxx. Merck’s marketing department was deliberately developing a strategy that was designed to understate the risk and talk only about the benefits. This has surprised most drug industry watchers who used to think of Merck as a company “where patients come first.”
Recommended article: Merck accused of using animal data to justify safety of Vioxx
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.