Vioxx

Today may mark a key day in the wrongful-death lawsuit against drug maker Merck as coroner Maria Areneta is expected to take the stand. According to analysts, plaintiff attorney W. Mark Lanier will attempt to show that a heart attack -- not an arrhythmia -- led to the death of 59-year-old Robert Ernst. Areneta's testimony is believed to bolster that argument. Merck has argued that Vioxx can not be held responsible for the death, as Vioxx has never been shown to cause an arrhythmia …

The New York Times scores week one as a victory for the defense in Ernst v. Merck, but not everybody seems to agree. After a week largely devoted to testimony on the drug giant's marketing practices, plaintiff attorney W. Mark Lanier is now expected to focus on specifics of the link between Vioxx and the heart attack which killed Robert Ernst at the age of 59. The case may boil down to which expert medical testimony the jury believes. Story

A better day for Merck in Vioxx trial
After several days of setbacks, things appear to be looking up a bit for Merck in the Ernst case. On Thursday, Merck epidemiologist Nancy Santenello argued that an ER doctor was "presumptive" in labeling the cause of death in the case a heart attack. The company argues that it cannot be held responsible for the death of Robert Ernst because he died of an arrhythmia, not a heart attack. The company argues there is no evidence to …

There was more drama in the second day of testimony in Merck v. Ernst, the wrongful death Vioxx trial in Texas. Jurors were shown a training video for the company's sales force which instructed employees to dodge probing questions about the drug. It was the first time the video had been shown publicly. Meanwhile, Merck reported a drop in second-quarter earnings this morning, saying net income was down 59 percent due to a repatriation tax charge. Overall drug sales were down 11 percent, …

In what appears to be the first major setback for the drug maker in its Texas wrongful death trial, Merck found itself on the defensive (literally) as new evidence appeared to suggest the company intentionally misled doctors about the risks involved with Vioxx. Yesterday, plaintiff attorney W. Mark Lanier produced a copy of a letter sent to thousands of physicians around the country in 2001 which states that the company determined that the risk of "cardiovascular events was 0.4 percent …

The US Senate voted 78-16 to make Lester Crawford's appointment official, confirming him as FDA head yesterday afternoon. The news comes as a disappointment to some critics who have complained that the agency needs to change its culture and tighten its regulatory posture after public relations disasters like the Vioxx controversy and the recent defects reported by device makers like Guidant. The confirmation went through despite an attempt by freshman Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) to stall …

A Texas jury heard the first evidence in the Ernst v. Merck trial, the wrongful-death suit brought by a Texas woman who believes her husband died as a result of taking Vioxx. Plaintiff attorney W. Mark Lanier grilled Merck's head of epidemiology, Nancy Santello, for much of the day in a style that is often described as being as entertaining as it is effective.

Many of the questions focused on "the dodge ball" memo, a Merck document outlining an internal strategy for dealing with …

Merck is launching a $20 million ad campaign in an effort to improve its public image after last year's Vioxx safety fiasco. The campaign, which was developed by New York's Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, uses several different approaches to attempt to repair the company's damaged ties with consumers. One spot promotes the company's discount program. Another talks about the role Merck had in eliminating once-common childhood diseases such as the mumps, chicken pox and …

A group of Congressmen publicly released a set of pharma company sales documents yesterday. The House Committee on Government Reform published the Merck documents, obtained last year during the Vioxx investigation, on its website. For healthcare providers, especially physicians, there is some interesting reading here on pharma marketing strategies. Details revealed include the length of a time a rep is supposed to shake hands (three seconds) and how one is to eat when dining with a …

Merck CEO Raymond T. Gilmartin announced his resignation this morning. Gilmartin stepped aside to make way for Richard T. Clark, president of Merck's manufacturing division. Clark, 59, served as CEO of Medco Health Solutions from 2002 to 2003. The move was not unexpected. Observers had predicted the company's problems with Vioxx would eventually lead to an early exit for Gilmartin, who was scheduled to retire in 2006. Shares of Merck stock rose this morning as Wall Street reacted to the …