Merck was aware of deaths but continued to sell Vioxx
In the ongoing Humeston versus Merck trial in Atlantic City, New Jersey, a few remarkable revelations have come out in the cross examination of David Anstice, a senior level Merck executive, who also played an instrumental role in how Vioxx was marketed. Below are some key points that Mr. Anstice made under cross examination:
-
Merck knew about deaths of some users of Vioxx as early 2000 but did not inform physicians unless they specifically asked about it. So while Americans were dying, the company continued to aggressively market the drug as safe.
-
Merck forecast a $500 million drop in revenue for the blockbuster drug if the FDA was successful in letting Americans know about the dangers of Vioxx. The company wanted the risk information to be in a less prominent area (unlikely to be read by doctors or patients) rather than in the “warnings” section – almost always read by a doctor. Merck successfully lobbied the FDA in changing the label to its advantage.
-
The company forbade its aggressive sales reps from talking to doctors about any potential risks that were known to the company but were not yet listed on the label as the company dragged the process of label change by the FDA.
-
Merck also organized a systematic program to respond to any criticism of the safety of the drug. Apart from Harvard doctor Lee Simon whose career was hurt through connections that the company had, Merck also tried to “keep pressure” on another expert Gurkirpal Singh of Stanford University, and one memo indicated that it “will get others at Stanford to help.”
Related article: Merck let patients die as it was worried about impact on sales if Vioxx were withdrawn
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.