In May of 1999, the FDA approved the use of rofecoxib. Marketed under the name of Vioxx, rofecoxib was manufactured and distributed by Merck, a large pharmaceutical company. Doctors prescribed the drug as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and prescription painkiller. Five years after its release, rofecoxib was withdrawn because of a study that showed the drug more than doubled the risk of heart attack or stroke. Because of Merck’s ongoing and increasing knowledge of the dangerous effects of the drug while continuing to distribute rofecoxib, Merck should be held accountable for acting unethically.…
However, several studies have questioned the cardiovascular safety of Vioxx. The manufacture of Vioxx has announced a voluntary withdrawal of the drug from the U.S. and worldwide market in September 30, 2004. After the company’s own 3 year study was stopped. Two million Americans were taking Vioxx when it was pulled and Merck had said that approximately 20 million people in the U.S. have used the drug. This withdrawal was due to some safety concerns of an increased risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and strokes in patients taking Vioxx during the first 18 months. In the 5 years that Vioxx was on the market over 88,000 and 140,000 cases of heart disease were reported, of those cases 30 to 40 percent were fatal. The records indicate that the action of both Merck and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found nearly 30,000 excess cases of heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths that resulted from the use of this drug between 1999 and 2003. Over 300 lawsuits have been filed against Merck, and was expected that thousand more will…
Merck & Co. marketed a drug called Vioxx. The drug was said to have less gastrointestinal problems than its competition – Naproxen. However, Vioxx had considerably more side effects including; heart attacks and strokes (Vershoor,C.C, 2006). Merck and Co. were accused of several unethical acts, therefore, the drugs were pulled from the market in September 2004. Unfortunately, not before 100 million prescriptions were filled. Merck & Co. was also accused of misrepresenting or concealing of study results to doctors. The New England Journal of Medicine reported that previous studies of three patients had been withheld. All three patients suffered heart attacks when taking Vioxx. Sales reps for Merck & Co. were trained to use subliminal selling tactics. Additionally, Merck & Co. only chose biased speakers of their products at educational…
If I was the CEO of Merck I would have disclosed these risks to the FDA as soon as they were discovered so that the patients currently taking VIOXX would have been able to make their own informed decisions whether to continue taking it or not. Merck profits would have dropped, but patients would have lived and Merck’s legal liabilities would have been far less. By the time Merck withdrew VIOXX, they had known of evidence that it lead to increased cardiovascular risks for at least three years and possibly more and had publicly denied that there was any risk associated with VIOXX (Waymor).…
In this paper I will analyze and assess legal and ethical modifications on marketing relations as it relates to both consumers and organizations. This research will analyze three to five ethical issues that relates to marketing and advertising, intellectual property, and regulation of product safety. The discussion of arguing for or against Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) marketing by drug companies will also be analyze. This paper will also determine who regulates compounding pharmacies under the current regulatory scheme, what the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could/should have done in the PharmaCARE scenario and whether the FDA should be granted more power over compounding pharmacies.…
I think with the aspect of economics the company has done the right thing as far as design great drugs in the past, and often even took losses with the making and delivery of those drugs. When it comes to Vioxx, I tend to believe that they should have informed the public and the doctors prescribing and taking this drug with all their findings and notions before the hard evidence came about. I do believe that not telling the whole truth about their findings to the doctors and the pubic goes against my belief in ethics. If I had anything to do with the distribution of the drug before the 2004 removal from market, I would have really studied the reports and warnings, and if I saw what was being reported and said from the scientist, then I would have stopped the sale of it then, and not wait until 2004. I would then have made a public address and told the public and doctors why we are stopping the sale and production of this drug. This would have again put more faith into the company from the public view as well. This is a hard question because if we look at the tobacco companies, they are still selling tobacco that has been proven over and over again to be harmful to humans and animals. I am a smoker and hopefully one day will quit, but for a company to continue to produce and sell a known harmful and deadly product, this is ethically bad for them as well as our government to even allow it. Where is the ethics in all of this? I will never figure that one out.…
Galen McDowell was a good salesperson who knew how to purchase the higher performances out of the salespeople under him. Bob wanted to sign a big contract with Kinan Motor who was his potential client, so he gave this assignment to Galen, and Galen got this opportunity to promote his value to the organisation. Then he made the plan to take them to a strip club which is called Red Ruby.…
Within this case little three year old Joshua was mailed an offer by times magazine. Within the see through window of the envelope there was an offer stating that if the recipient only opened that letter that they would receive a free calculator watch. After his mother opened the envelope and read further it seemed that not only opening the envelope but purchasing the magazine was required to claim this prize. The first question that this case asks is did Time act ethically in this case. My answer to this is no, the displayed false advertisement by stating all that the recipient needed to do was simply open the envelope to receive their “gift”. They were giving false information as not only did you have to open the document but you needed to subscribe to their magazine in order to receive the calculator watch. The next question that was asked was what a frivolous lawsuit is. A frivolous lawsuit is when a case is brought to court and it is lacking substance and not worth serious consideration. Was Joshua’s lawsuit a frivolous lawsuit? In my opinion no it was not as Time Inc. needed to be shown that false advertisement is not going to be tolerated. Lastly the final question in this ethical case study is was the claimed damages of $15 million excessive? I believe that this was not excessive as when you are dealing with a well known profitable company the only way you can get through to them is by hitting them where it hurts and that is at the bank. By being awarded that settlement I am sure that Time Inc would not only try to appeal the decision but it would make the company remember for future reference that giving false advertisement can cost them a ton of money.…
Although Merck did voluntarily recall Vioxx after post marketing studies, Merck should have done so earlier in the process with the clinical data Merck obtained in its own studies. Initial questions over adverse cardiac events were report in early clinical trials in 1997 CITATION Law14 \l 1033 (Lawerence & Weber, 2014). The company was responsible for not investigating some unknown reasons of adverse cardiac problems. Instead, the company lobbied the government with lots of money for faster drug approvals and better drug coverage for Medicare recipients. The company spent over five hundred million dollars in promoting sales of the drug Vioxx with marketing representatives and television advertising staring Olympic figure staking medalist Dorothy Hamill CITATION Law14 \l 1033 (Lawerence & Weber, 2014). The success of the marketing efforts were record breaking…
Merck’s open letters employ Aristotle’s idea of rhetoric by building appeal with the reader based on three foundations of ethos: wisdom, virtue and goodwill. This strategy is used in attempt to establish credibility and refute The Lancet claim that pharmaceutical giant “acted out of ruthless, shortsighted, and irresponsible self-interest” in Vioxx case. At first, the both documents try to establish Merck’s good judgment and knowledge by insisting the company conforms to ”scientific discipline and transparency”, performs ”rigorous scientific investigation” and brings “new medicines to patients who need them”. In addition, the “Open Letter” argues that as soon as data confirming the increased risks of Vioxx became available, the pharmaceutical giant “acted promptly and made the decision to voluntary withdraw” the drug. The letters further develop ethos with the audience by demonstrating Merck’s history of doing the right thing: “For more than 100 years,” the company “has produced life-saving benefits for countless…
When considering the ethical issues related to PharmaCARE’s marketing and advertising, intellectual property and regulation of product safety of AD23 there are three issues. The issues elaborated below are (1) misleading/false advertising, (2) discrimination in distribution and most importantly (3) dangerous products.…
After researching pharmaceutical companies, I quickly realized this is a very controversial topic. I’m not certain anyone in many of these companies have very many moral standards. Drug companies seemed to be very profitable from the researchers to the drug reps that deliver “gifts” and sample meds to the doctor’s offices that push their medications.…
I do not believe that Merck made a socially responsible decision when Vioxx was introduced into the pharmaceutical market. Scientists that were involved in product development and testing knew that there were serious health risks that could be side effects of the medication- such as cardiovascular complications. If they considered the lives that could have potentially been and as we know now were affected, the medication could have been revamped with changes that would minimize these harmful side effects. During the development and testing phase for Vioxx – issues regarding the safety of the drug were questioned due to the many cases of heart attacks resulting from the medication (more so than Aleve and Celebrex). The advertising technique that was used was thru direct-to-consumer. This was new in the pharmaceutical industry as it was the first time they were allowed to advertise to consumers. They used an Olympic figure skater as the primary character within their commercials. Consumers then would request this medication, making doctors feel obliged to prescribe. The government and policymakers received large sums of money from the development company during the advertising phase and market introduction. When studies became public of Vioxx users being twice as susceptible to heart attacks, Dr. Kim recommended recalling the drugs due to the elevated risks for users as well as the lack of knowledge as to what was causing the heart attacks. There were mixed emotions for some stating that stronger warning labels should be used and that prescription was to be left for the doctor and patient’s assessment.…
Merck was relying on the success of Vioxx due to Zocor’s expiring patent and the direct competition Vioxx was engaged in with Celebrex, which had a first mover advantage. While Celebrex was also a Cox-2 inhibitor, Vioxx was the only Cox-2 inhibitor proven to be beneficial for ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding. Once studies came out suggesting that Vioxx contributed to a greater number of cardiovascular problems than naproxen, Merck seemed to opportunistically interpret these results. Furthermore, Merck did not institute any studies that might have found negative cardiovascular results, and management failed to perform a study that focused specifically on the cardiovascular risks of Vioxx. Instead, Merck spent a record amount on advertising the gastrointestinal benefit of the drug in a period of uncertainty. The…
Newell Brands CEO Michael Polk expresses the company’s interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Polk says that Newell Brands has a commitment to make life better for millions of people.…