Vioxx Press Kit

The Vioxx Verdict Message: "Safety Before Sales"

Evidence from the Vioxx trial shows that Merck executives abused their power by putting a drug on the market they knew was unsafe and even deadly. Carol Ernst's last resort was the civil justice system and her attorney made sure she had a fair shake against Merck's corporate defense lawyers.

This case highlights one of the many problems with the medical malpractice bill that is likely to be considered in the U.S. Senate this fall. The bill is similar to the one passed in the U.S. House of Representatives over the summer, which provides immunity to pharmaceutical companies for putting dangerous FDA-approved drugs on the market, among other things.

Other key points:

• The Vioxx verdict proves that our civil justice system lets ordinary Americans hold even the largest and wealthiest corporations accountable for putting sales ahead of safety.

  FDA scientist David Graham told Congress that Vioxx contributed to the death of as many as 55,000 Americans.

• Merck knew Vioxx was dangerous.

  Merck's own memos prove the company knew Vioxx had heart risks as early as 1997. Those risks were confirmed by a clinical trial in 2000. Ignoring this, Merck made billions by aggressively marketed the drug.

• Merck trained drug representatives to dodge questions from doctors about the safety of the drug.

  Merck even invented a game called "dodgeball" to teach drug representatives how to evade doctors' tough questions about safety. Merck also sent doctors a misleading 2001 letter understating the drug's risks. And if doctors weren't deterred, internal memos prove Merck worked to discredit questioning doctors.

• $229 million in punitive damages was what Merck officials estimated the company would save by not correcting Vioxx's warning label

  Merck's CEO focused on promoting Vioxx's sales not safety warnings because Vioxx sales were critical to Merck's bottom line. The punitive damage verdict sent a clear message to Merck and other drug companies that safety comes before sales.

• Merck tried to avoid its responsibility by lobbying Congress for medical malpractice legislation that would have immunized it from almost all of this verdict.

  Merck spent $30,390,294 to lobby the U.S. Congress and federal agencies over the last five years.

• Big pharmaceutical companies will never police themselves when CEO salaries and bonuses depend on sales. Our only protection is the civil justice system.
  

Posted: August 26, 2005