Merck sold Vioxx ruthlessly prior to recall

As the whole world watched in horror how Merck used aggressive marketing techniques to push Vioxx to unsuspecting users, Merck told a Congressional Committee that it is working to bring the drug back to market. It is estimated by the FDA that as many 140,000 Americans have been injured and as many as 50,000 Americans may be dead after taking vioxx. That death count "is the equivalent of the Vietnam War," Dr. David Graham, the top FDA scientist recently told an audience of about 250 doctors, academics and the public at the University of Michigan Hospital. (Related article: Vioxx should have never been approved)

And Merck knew what it was doing. The New York Times reported that as early as 2000 (four years prior to recall of Vioxx), Merck knew that Vioxx was killing people. Instead of withdrawing the drug or even warning about its cardiovascular risks, Merck decided to become even more aggressive in marketing it. According to documents made available by the House Reforms Committee, Merck urged its 3,000 Vioxx salespeople to push the drug in campaigns tagged Project XXceleration and Project Offense, in which physicians' safety concerns were described as obstacles to sales that had to be overcome. Don't bring up the heart risks, advises s a February 9, 2001, memorandum to sales people at Merck. In another training manual, sales rep were even advised on how to eat ("one small bitesize piece (of bread) at a time") when entertaining doctors. And of course, Merck salespeople were getting rich as Americans were dying. Merck offered huge bonuses to sales staff for meeting their numbers. (Related article: Merck used games like Dodge Ball to train its sales staff to avoid talking about Vioxx risks)

Merck was treated rather kindly by the Republican chairman Rep. Tom Davis at the hearings (GOP receives millions of dollars in campaign contributions from the pharma industry), but several Democratic lawmakers exposed how Merck paid no attention to deaths from Vioxx and focused on one single goal - Vioxx sales. Merck also successfully hid all risks of Vioxx and was able to counter research from outsiders through a well-organized campaign involving publishing research of its own that was favorable.

"The companies design the drug trials," Vera Hassner Sharav, president of the Alliance for Human Research Protection says in an article on The Street. "They select the subjects. They maintain and interpret the data. They select which parts get published. They choose who will become the reviewers in the prestigious medical journals. And they pick 'key opinion leaders,' who they pay handsomely" to promote the drugs."

The company is facing thousands of class action lawsuits resulting from injuries from Vioxx. Two cases that were scheduled to go on trial this quarter have been postponed to next quarter but more and more victims are coming forward, including non-Americans. The first class action lawsuit on behalf of all Italian citizens who allegedly died or were seriously injured by Vioxx has been filed recently. The suit accuses Merck of failing to properly research the known risks of Vioxx and warn Italian consumers of potentially fatal side effects. The representation of Italian consumers was undertaken by a US based Vioxx attorney in cooperation with CODACONS, the non-profit organization established by Italian law with a mandate to safeguard consumers.

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Links

The Street

CODACONS

Alliance for Human Research Protection

Vioxx