Pre trial differences emerge between Merck and Seeger

Not many people have heard of Dr. Eric Topol. He is a world-renowned cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. And he knows a little bit about heart diseases, as you can guess. In the Vioxx controversy, he had a very important role to play. He was one of the few people, apart from Dr. David Graham, who warned of the dangers of the drug very early on. However, when Merck announced that it was suspending the sales of the painkiller, he was attacked by Fortune magazine and his credibility questioned because he was also advising a group of investors at the time. In other words, the magazine argued that he had a conflict of interest and that is why his opinion did not count. Eventually he quit from his part-time role as an advisor but everything that he had been saying for years was proved to be correct.

That sets a good background for discussion about another character in the ongoing Vioxx litigation - Edward Scolnick, the former chief scientist at Merck. In many ways he was instrumental in the launch of the drug and its subsequent marketing. During the recent trial in Carol Ernst vs. Merck, another company scientist Nancy Santanello acknowledged that Scolnick raised concerns as early as 1998 that Vioxx might cause heart attacks and strokes.

Now you might expect that since the chief scientist of the company was concerned, he would convince the top management to pull the drug off the shelves. But no one knows what happened and what was said and done, but the drug was on the market for about six more years hurting about 140,000 Americans and killing about 60,000. What Scolnick did do though was sell his stock in the company. Not just a few shares but worth as much as $32 million. It will be hard to prove if he did anything illegal but he clearly understood that Vioxx could bring Merck down. And he was absolultely right.

Now can this piece of evidence be presented in the Humeston vs. Merck trial scheduled to star soon in Atlantic City? A decision is still awaited from Judge Carol Higbee. Chris Seeger, the attorney for Mike Humeston wants to present the evidence and Merck is opposing it.

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