Drug Company Merck Tried to Neutralize and Discredit Doctors Critical of Vioxx

In a court case in Australia, evidence came out that showed that the drug giant Merck created and disseminated a list of doctors who opposed their drug Vioxx. As reported in the April 6, 2009 British Medical Journal and in the April 1, 2009 issue of the newspaper, The Australian, Merck created a list of mainly researchers and academics who had been negative about the drug Vioxx or Merck. The inter-office emails then recommended a course of action to either discredit or neutralize them.

The article in The Australian also noted that Merck allegedly used intimidation tactics against critical researchers, including dropping hints it would stop funding to institutions and claims it interfered with academic appointments. According to an email excerpt read to the Australian court, one Merck employee wrote in an email, "We may need to seek them out and destroy them where they live."

In The Australian article, plaintiff attorney Julian Burnside said internal emails in April 1999 from Merck staff showed the company was not happy with what some researchers and doctors were saying about the drug. "It gives you the dark side of the use of key opinion leaders and thought leaders ... if (they) say things you don't like to hear, you have to neutralize them," he said. "It does suggest a certain culture within the organization about how to deal with your opponents and those who disagree with you."

On September 30, 2004, Merck voluntarily withdrew Vioxx from the market because of concerns about increased risk of heart attack and stroke associated with long-term, high-dosage use. Vioxx was one of the most widely used drugs ever to be withdrawn from the market. In the year before withdrawal, Merck had sales revenue of US$2.5 billion from Vioxx.

In the United States the U.S. Attorney's office for the District of Massachusetts sent a letter in March 2009, informing the drugmaker it is a target of the grand jury investigation concerning Merck's research, marketing and selling activities regarding Vioxx.

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