Merck and River Blindness (Onchocerciasis) In understanding the decision Merck made to donate medicines‚ we need to start by understanding the motivations and core values behind the company that undertook the actions. We can get some insight into these by examining and understanding their company mission statement: The mission of Merck is to provide society with superior products and services‚ innovations‚ and solutions that improve the quality of life and satisfy customer needs-to provide employees
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As a result of worldwide withdrawal of Vioxx‚ Merck faced a serious public relations crisis in the fall of 2004. Pharmaceutical giant’s officials were forced to defend company’s actions‚ its motivation for those actions‚ and its reputation after several articles‚ negatively reflecting on Merck’s behavior handling the Vioxx case‚ had been published. As an initial response to Vioxx crisis‚ the company released “An Open Letter from Merck” and “For 100 years‚ patients first” in attempt at a positive
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CEO Ray Gilmartin Merck’s CEO Ray Gilmartin is a significant stakeholder in the company. Since a lot of Mercks’ products patents will be expiring in the next few years Gilmartin put a big emphasis on investing into the companies research and development of new products. Gilmartin wanted this company to really focus on coming out with new products because their bottom line was going to take a hit in the next few years once the patent on their big money products runs out. Gilmartin found it an
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research scientist working for Merck and Company‚ discovered evidence that one of the company’s drugs might kill the parasite that causes river blindness. He then decided to request permission to research this new finding. The mangers for the company noticed that it would take enormous amount of funding and time to develop this new vaccine. This new product could be really hard to market and who was going to actually buy it; it could also damaged the market share that Merck currently had by selling
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Merck: Business Analysis Merck is a flourishing research-driven pharmaceutical company‚ which discovers‚ develops‚ manufacturers‚ and promotes an extensive variety of human and animal health products. Although Merck is one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies of the world‚ they still come across problems today while striving to sustain a lead against its competition. Merck has achieved success with its lengthy history of breakthrough drugs and the development of three significant pharmaceutical
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2011). In 1978‚ Merck‚ while testing invermectin (a parasite killing drug for animals)‚ found that invermectin killed a parasite similar to the one that caused river blindness. The problem for Merck was that river blindness generally only affects people in very poor areas and there was very little chance to recoup their financial investment by selling the drug. The ethical dilemma represented by this situation is focused on what course of action Merck should take. Does Merck invest precious resources
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First established in 1668 in Darmstadt‚ Germany‚ Merck is currently (in 1978) one of the largest prescription drug producers in the world. After coming off a 10 year drug drought in the late 1970s‚ Merck put a large amount of money into research to continue its dominance in the prescription drug industry. The research-first approach worked and since then Merck has increased sales significantly. Merck’s mission was well stated by founder George W. Merck. “We try never to forget that medicine is for
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Statement of the Problem Merck & Co.‚ Inc.‚ a leading pharmaceutical company‚ faces the threat of the patents of its most popular drugs expiring in 2002. The only way to counter the loss of sales from these drugs going off patent is to develop new drugs in order to refresh the company’s portfolio. LAB Pharmaceuticals‚ a small pharmaceutical company who specializes in the treatment of neurological disorders‚ has approached Merck with the opportunity to license Davanrik‚ a new
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Merck‚ the FDA‚ and the VIOXX Recall MBA 520-D4C2 Ethics & Leadership in a Global Environment April 22‚ 2012 Merck and Vioxx Recall Did Merck act in social and ethical manner? In 2005‚ Merck was ranked fourth in sales among pharmaceutical companies. Merck had released the drug Vioxx‚ for treating Osteoarthritis in late 1990. Merck as a company has a reputation of being one of the most ethical and
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In the year 2000‚ Merck produced a controversial product called Vioxx. Four years later it gained worldwide attention because of the drug’s potential cardiovascular risks. This was detrimental to the company’s reputation because it was alleged Merck knowingly distributed Vioxx despite its risk. Both Barbara Martinez and Anne W. Mathews of the Wall Street Journal wrote articles into the investigation of Vioxx. Their article suggests Merck knew the dangers of Vioxx at an early stage of its clinical
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