In order to do this case, there is a little but of prep work before reading the material.
So first, listen to the elements of the case here first on NPR. (Links to an external site.) https://www.npr.org/2007/11/10/5470430/timeline-the-rise-and-fall-of-vioxx
Then read: Vioxx Case (Presley)Preview the document
file:///Users/lianetsanchez/Downloads/Vioxx%20-%20Case%20(2).pdf
Merck (Links to an external site.) https://www.merck.com/index.html is a major pharmaceutical company (Links to an external site.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merck_%26_Co.
that depends on patents and innovations. The patents of Fosamax and Zocor expired in 2006. Merck had planned Vioxx to be its next Blockbuster drug.
What might Merck have done when information came out that Vioxx caused Cardio vascular problems?
Was it ethical for Merck to withdraw sponsorship of researchers who took issue with Mercks marketing of Vioxx? And was it good strategy?
Compare Mercks actions in influencing reported research results on Vioxx to the strategy of the tobacco companies in the 1950s as they countered research that established a link between smoking and cancer?
