Jerks?
I think not.
You see, I used to make that product. I'm "one of those jerks."
People don't seem to realize that Merck (and I'm no longer an employee of that organization) is one of the most ethical of all the major drug companies. There is a mantra at that company that is posted prominently in all facilities. That mantra is "We never try to forget that medicine is for the people," said George Merck, son of Merck's founder. "It is not for the profits. The profits follow, and if we have remembered that, they have never failed to appear."
That mantra is an influence in every facet of how that company runs its business. Errors were made in the Vioxx launch, that's clear.
But to say that they were intentional or covered up to deliberately mislead the public is simply feeding on the rhetoric of greedy ambulance chasing lawyers. I
know one of the women who was a lead scientist on the development of Vioxx. I can tell you that hurting people was the
last thing that Cheryl wanted to do...and that people were hurt will haunt her for the rest of her life.
You'll (please) note that Merck quickly pulled Vioxx, while Pfizer continues to see its equally dangerous COX-II NSAID with reckless abandon. Go through the FDA CDER FOI
page and look at the industry warning letters. You'll see many from Pfizer for misleading ads and poor GMP compliance. You'll see very little on Merck.
Merck is a great company and they do not brag on or make ads about the many good deeds they do. How many people have heard about river blindness? Several years ago, a Merck scientist found that rural Africans were suffering from a parasite that caused blindness. He worked with his company (Merck) to find a cure. The company then began to donate -- that is, give away for FREE -- a drug therapy. Once Merck realized that the doctor infrastructure was not in place in Africa for distribution of this drug, Merck began to fund doctors to go to Africa to distribute the product.
But they're not running commercials about it.
Why?
Because it's the right thing to do -- and medicine is, after all, "for the people - not for the profits."
Carter Center on Merck and river blindness