Awash in Vioxx Suits, Merck Is Recruiting Big-Time Help
December 7, 2004 10:46

With the initial glare of public scrutiny and market recoil over Vioxx behind it, Merck & Co. now is arming for another battle that will be key in determining the company's survival.

The company has hired a handful of firms for its defense, but observers say that Merck's final legal lineup could change as the litigation takes shape.

Full Story: Full Story at Law.Com

With the initial glare of public scrutiny and market recoil over Vioxx behind it, Merck & Co. now is arming for another battle that will be key in determining the company's survival.

Full Story at New York Lawyer

New research suggests that top-selling pain reliever Celebrex doesn't carry the same heart attack risk as Vioxx, a similar drug pulled from the market in September because of safety concerns. A University of Pennsylvania study is the first to compare the two arthritis drugs since the recall.

Ray Gilmartin, Merck's chief executive, held an hourlong meeting with workers Nov. 15 in an auditorium at the company's Whitehouse Station headquarters. The meeting, which was available to employees by Webcast, also featured appearances by Ken Frazier, Merck's top lawyer; Judy Lewent, the chief financial officer, and Peter Kim, the company's top scientist. Full Story on Vioxx's lawyer

an Atlanta lawyer who handles Vioxx claims, is taking a strong stance in favor of a new review board to monitor the FDA. "We have seen too many unsafe drugs approved for use," he says. "When FDA expert David Graham testifies that Americans are not being protected, it's time for regulatory reform." Full Press Release

Based on an article by THE NEW YORK TIMES, by Alex Berenson, Gardiner Harris, Barry Meier and Andrew Pollack, "In May 2000, executives at Merck, the pharmaceutical giant under siege for its handling of the multibillion-dollar drug Vioxx, made a fateful decision."... (Read this Vioxx Article)

Family Members Should Know Their Family's Medical History Yes, this is a great time to be sure that you are up to date with your family's history. This includes not only your immediate family but your grand parents and aunts and uncles. This history needs... (Read this Vioxx Article)

According to the Los Angeles Times, the California Association of Physicians and Surgeons, and even the Center for Diseases Control?s own admission, well over 100,000 people in this country die each year from ?properly? administered prescription drugs.... (Read this Vioxx Article)

More than 30 people are suing the manufacturer of the pain reliever Vioxx. Twenty-three former Vioxx users and the survivors of nine other Utah residents who allegedly died as a result of taking the pain reliever sued Merck & Co. on Friday. Full Story

Recalled in September after four years on the market and billions of dollars in revenues, Merck announced that the side effects of Vioxx include headaches, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain?and heart attacks.

What does it take to stop executives from lining their own pockets? Not much, at least when you look at the recent decision by Merck & Co. to give fat severance packages to 230 of its top managers if there is a buyout or a merger. Read about the conduct of Merck Executives

Did you know that Merck sought approval to give Vioxx to kids? "WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. -- Physicians and parents of children afflicted with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) -- a debilitating type of arthritis that can occur in toddlers to teenagers... (Read this Vioxx Article)

A Food and Drug Administration official who sought to estimate the harm done to patients by side effects of the painkiller Vioxx said yesterday that his supervisors tried to suppress his conclusions, according to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). Here are... (Read this Vioxx Article)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co. Inc. has adopted a severance benefits plan aimed at protecting key managers in the event the company is taken over -- a growing possibility since the withdrawal of arthritis drug Vioxx sent shares tumbling.

Now that's just perfect. Screw the public. Then screw your shareholders.

The nation's largest group of doctors called for an end to restrictions in drug trial contracts that prevent academic and other researchers from freely discussing test data and results. In a unanimous vote, the policy-making board of the American... (Read this Vioxx Article)