The Non-Guilty: Merck's Case

What are the ethical implications of the "Dodge Ball Vioxx" document given to sales representatives? The purpose of the document was to convince doctors to keep prescribing Vioxx, even though the dangers of the drug escalated. (unethical) Merck was caught trying to suppress the negative information about Vioxx, even to the extent of threatening a university Researcher.(unethical/unlawful) Also, there was a concentrated effort to hide the negative evidence and distort the Vioxx trials by eliminating heart patients from the Vioxx studies so that the rate of cardiovascular problems for Vioxx patients would not be seen.(unethical)

Dr. David Graham is the senior scientist within the FDA’s Office of Drug Safety. Graham became concerned when he started to see an increased number of patients having heart attacks and strokes after taking a large does of the drug Vioxx, back in 2002. He raised his concern to the FDA saying that the warning label needs to be changed due to his new findings. He had trouble getting this any attention from the FDA’s administration and decided it was time to ‘blow the whistle’ and go to the media.

The twenty-first century has seen pharmaceutical companies grow in unprecedented size and strength. Due to the unprecedented growth the larger pharmaceutical companies have gained leverage and power in the prescription drug industry, but they lack innovation to market and they seek ways to help the business continue to increase its profits. The pharmaceutical industry was once ethically sound and was a valuable player in the development of human health. However, overtime with the lack of innovation pharmaceutical companies are becoming an unethical market that exploits patients, doctors and anyone else it can to increase its profitability. With eyes only on profitability this can create a hazard for patients because there

How many times over the past 10 years has a drug or drug regimen been deemed unsafe and extremely dangerous yet the pharmaceutical companies covered it up in order to continue raking in the profits for as long as possible? If you do the research its an unbelievable amount, not a hard thing to find, and thats only going back 10 years. How about hormone replacement therapy for women? The standard care for a menopausal woman for over the past 40 years has been HRT (hormone replacement therapy). Even women with no complaints were advised that this treatment was helpful as it reduced chances for a heart attack and cancer and even helped them feel younger. Were any of these claims true? Not even in the slightest bit. Breast cancer risk has doubled for women on HRT, with a 41% increased risk for stroke, and a 29% increased risk of a heart attack (“Medical News Today”). How about Vioxx? This was a drug that was an alternative to over the counter meds such as

In the video Escape Fire, I was so flabbergasted by the numbers and health outcomes we as a society have let our nation become. One of the most heart-wrenching evidence is, even though our health care industry is so expensive our health outcomes are the worse. 75% of disabilities and dead’s are preventable, according to the film.

An article was chosen from the University Library to evaluate the issue of unethical business research conduct. The article chose is called Flacking for Big Pharma: Drugmakers Don't Just Compromise Doctors; They Also Undermine the Top Medical Journals and Skew the Findings of Medical Research . The identification of the unethical business research involved in the article is given. The parties involved along with effected party is mentioned. The evaluation of the article also identifies how the unethical behavior affected the organization, injured party, and society. A proposition of

The current article of discussion asks its audience if we believe the treatment given by the courts are fair regarding similar cases just with different defendants. Mr. Shkreli is known for acquiring the rights of a generic drug used for rare disease and increasing the prices by 5,000% and soon became the “most hated man in America”. During his trial, many Jurors had asked to step down as they could not provide the defendant with a fair and just hearing. Mr. Shkreli charges were on security frauds on two hedge funds. He was found guilty on three counts and sentenced to 7 years even though he paid all investors back plus interest.

Gwen Olsen, a pharmaceutical sales woman has confessed that after fifteen years of selling drugs, she lied to doctors in order to make obscene profits for the “unethical” drug companies she worked for; major names you would immediately recognize that I’m not going to post here. In her tell-all book: Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher, she says, “There is no such thing as a safe drug,. I was being encouraged to minimize side effects when I talked to doctors… the misinformation,

The Pharmaceutical industry has been in the spotlight for decades due to the fact that they have a reputation for being unethical in its marketing strategies. In The Washington Post Shannon Brownlee (2008) states, “We try never to forget that medicine is for the people. It is not for the profits. The profits follow.” This honorable statement is completely lost in today’s world of pharmaceutical marketing tactics. These tactics are often deceptive and biased. Big Pharma consistently forgets their moral purpose and focuses primarily on the almighty dollar. Big Pharma is working on restoring their reputation by reforming their ethical code of conduct.

The prescription painkiller drug, which was introduced in 1999, is called Vioxx. Vioxx was introduced by Merck and co. Vioxx served the purpose of being a painkiller in the relief of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, painful menstruation and other types of acute pain. This painkilling drug would be classified as a non-inflammatory drug (NSAIDs).

Merck is a drug manufacture giant who brings an annual revenue of nearly fifty billion. Prior the Vioxx recall Merck was a highly valued company when it came to its ethical standard. It had consistently toped list for companies to work for (Lawrence & Weber, 2014). In addition to this they were well recognized as a socially responsible company who placed an importance on testing to provide the best quality pharmaceuticals. The Vioxx recall caused a huge blow for the company resulting in lawsuits and drop in company value.

From the 1950 's on, numerous new drugs were developed and mass-produced, including the first oral contraceptive, Cortisone, blood pressure drugs, etc. In 1960 Valium

Ecstacy was developed by Merck pharmaceutical company in 1912. It was used by the army in psyslogical warfare tests. It was originally called “MDMA”. In the 1980s MDMA was actually promoted. While the drug was still legal it got branded as “Ecstacy”. Now the drug is banned due to safety concerns. Since the drug is banned, drug dealers will use ecstacy as a marketing tool. But, what they’re selling contains little to no actual MDMA. Most people don’t know what exactly they are taking, they are just looking to get high. Ectasy usually comes in pill form but can be injected and taken in many different ways like any other drug. Ecstacy is a a nervous system depressant, something that can also be found in drain cleaner. It also makes you hallucinate

The pharmaceutical industry includes companies that research, develop, market or distribute generic and branded drugs. The industry expanded during the 1980’s and drugs to treat heart disease and AIDS were prominent. Consumer demand for nutritional supplements and alternative medicine increased during the 1990’s with the Internet facilitating direct purchases of drugs. Advertising for direct consumption of pharmaceutical drugs became more prominent; pharmaceutical companies were criticized for over medicating personality or social problems.

The pharmaceutical industry confronts several dilemmas every year. Most of these dilemmas revolve around money or whether or not to sacrifice now for a bigger payoff in the end concerning money and/or lives. Pharmaceutical companies tend to use shortcuts that create ethical problems. Drug companies have spent millions/billions of dollars in research, and they obviously want to see