Merck and Vioxx
Assignment 3 – Class 3
Table of Contents
Question 4, page 313 3
Question 5, page 313 4
Question 10, page 315 4
Question 2, page 357 5
Question 6, page 358 5
References 6
Assignment 3 – Class 3
# 4, page 313 – Merck & Vioxx
According to The New York Times article, “Merck to Pay $950 Million Over Vioxx” by Duff Wilson, the following lawsuits have been settled by Merck: Merck has agreed to pay $950 million and has pleaded guilty to a criminal charge over the marketing and sales of the painkiller Vioxx, the company and the Justice Department said Tuesday. Merck agreed to pay a $321 million criminal fine and plead guilty to one misdemeanor count of illegally introducing a drug into interstate commerce, the Justice Department said in a news release. The charge arose from Merck 's promotion of Vioxx to treat rheumatoid arthritis before the Food and Drug Administration approved it for that purpose in 2002. Merck also is paying $426 million to the federal government and $202 million to state Medicaid agencies. Those payments will settle civil claims that its illegal marketing caused doctors to prescribe and bill the government for Vioxx they otherwise would not have prescribed. In 2007, Merck agreed to pay $4.85 billion to settle 27,000 lawsuits by people who had claimed they or their relatives had suffered injury or death after taking the drug. Merck has also signed a corporate integrity agreement in connection with the settlement, promising to monitor future promotional activity and report back regularly to the government. Merck joins Pfizer and most other major drug companies in settling long investigations with prosecutors.
In April 2010, the Philadelphia Inquirer issued an article titled, “High court rules with investors in lawsuit against Merck,” discussing the lawsuit against Merck by their investors stating that Merck downplayed the risks involved of Vioxx, which ultimately cost them billions of dollars in stock value after the drug was removed
Table of Contents
Question 4, page 313 3
Question 5, page 313 4
Question 10, page 315 4
Question 2, page 357 5
Question 6, page 358 5
References 6
Assignment 3 – Class 3
# 4, page 313 – Merck & Vioxx
According to The New York Times article, “Merck to Pay $950 Million Over Vioxx” by Duff Wilson, the following lawsuits have been settled by Merck: Merck has agreed to pay $950 million and has pleaded guilty to a criminal charge over the marketing and sales of the painkiller Vioxx, the company and the Justice Department said Tuesday. Merck agreed to pay a $321 million criminal fine and plead guilty to one misdemeanor count of illegally introducing a drug into interstate commerce, the Justice Department said in a news release. The charge arose from Merck 's promotion of Vioxx to treat rheumatoid arthritis before the Food and Drug Administration approved it for that purpose in 2002. Merck also is paying $426 million to the federal government and $202 million to state Medicaid agencies. Those payments will settle civil claims that its illegal marketing caused doctors to prescribe and bill the government for Vioxx they otherwise would not have prescribed. In 2007, Merck agreed to pay $4.85 billion to settle 27,000 lawsuits by people who had claimed they or their relatives had suffered injury or death after taking the drug. Merck has also signed a corporate integrity agreement in connection with the settlement, promising to monitor future promotional activity and report back regularly to the government. Merck joins Pfizer and most other major drug companies in settling long investigations with prosecutors.
In April 2010, the Philadelphia Inquirer issued an article titled, “High court rules with investors in lawsuit against Merck,” discussing the lawsuit against Merck by their investors stating that Merck downplayed the risks involved of Vioxx, which ultimately cost them billions of dollars in stock value after the drug was removed
References: WILSON, By DUFF. (November 23, 2011 Wednesday). Merck to Pay $950 Million Over Vioxx. The New York Times, Retrieved from www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic. (April 28, 2010 Wednesday). High court rules with investors in lawsuit against Merck. The Philadelphia Inquirer, Retrieved from www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic.