The Central Problem
In the Merck, the FDA, and the Vioxx Recall case study, the question as to whether or not Merck conducted itself in a socially responsible and ethical manner with regard to Vioxx is the central problem we will examine in this case. Many argue that the sole problem lies within the pharmaceutical company Merck and Co., Inc., and while that may in fact be the case, other parties such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can be held responsible as well. Merck a “research driven” pharmaceutical company “dedicated to putting patients first,” is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies throughout the world (Presley, 2). The American pharmaceutical giant manufactures, markets, research and develops a variety of health products worldwide. Vioxx, a selective COX-2 inhibitor drug designed to treat pain and inflammation, is one of such products that became the company’s bestselling-prescription painkiller; after the FDA approved the drug for treatment in May of 1999. The blockbuster drug generated more than 2.1 billion dollars in sales throughout the United States alone and proved to be a winning product for the company. A few years later in 2004, the drug was voluntarily recalled by Merck after results from a clinical trial [it conducted] resulted in findings of increased heart attacks amongst users who had been on the drug for over eighteen months. (Presley, 1) Prior to these findings, studies conducted by VIGOR, Cleveland Clinic, and Kaiser Permanente also yielded results of the drugs’ risks associated with increased heart attacks; however, Merck ignored such warnings—including a warning letter from the FDA about the risks associated with the drug. Once the company learned of the findings from its internal stu...
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The painkiller Vioxx was introduced in 1999 by Merck & Co. It has been used by over 20 million Americans since it was put on the market. Vioxx remained on the market for approximately five years without adequate warnings about its risks. In September of 2004, Merck took Vioxx off the market after a study revealed that it doubled the risk of heart attack or stroke for patients that used it for more than 18 months. Although Merck claimed that they had no idea of these possibly lethal side effects, some internal documents imply that they had been aware of the problem for years and had not made moves to change it. Over 300 lawsuits have been filed against Merck, and it is expected that thousands more will arise.
Dr. John Abramson’s book Overdosed America debunks the myths about the excellence of American medicine. Abramson backs up this claim by closely examining research about medicine, closely examining the unpublished details submitted by drug manufacturers to the FDA, and discovering that the unpublished data does not coincide with the claims made about the safety and effectiveness of commonly used medicines. Abramsons purpose is to point out the flaws of the pharmaceutical industry in order to warn the readers about the credibility of the drugs they are buying. Given the critical yet technical language of the book, Abramson is writing to an audience that may include academic physicians as well as those who want to learn about the corruption of the pharmaceutical industry.
The Prescription for Disaster is written, directed, produced, and hosted by Gary Null. Gary Null received an associate’s degree in business administration. His alma mater is a Mountain State, a 2-year college. He later goes to Union Institute and University for his Ph.D. in human nutrition , but he still does not have enough education or experience to speak on medical drugs compared to others in this field. He offers valid issues in the pharmaceutical industry, but most of his complaints are exaggerated and generalized to all in the medical field. The extreme bias of the Prescription for Disaster puts the validity of this documentary into
Many people throughout the world visit the United States every year to receive medical treatment. This is due to our excellent pharmaceutical industry as it spends million of dollars and many hours of research to come up with what we can only describe as “miracle” drugs and treatments. Part of the success of many of these medications is because the pharmaceutical industry is highly regulated by policies that protect the public from accessing drugs that have not been fully tested and found to be “safe”. However, this was not the case until the late 1990s and early 2000s. One time in history that highly influenced the strict regulations we currently have was the nationwide contamination of patients through blood transfusion or by consuming medications
In 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act, that was years in the making was finally passed under President Roosevelt. This law reflected a sea change in medicine-- an unprecedented wave of regulations. No longer could drug companies have a secret formula and hide potentially toxic substances such as heroin under their patent. The law required drug companies to specify the ingredients of medications on the label. It also regulated the purity and dosage of substances. Not by mere coincidence was the law passed only about five years after Bayer, a German based drug company began selling the morphine derivative, heroin. Thought to be a safe, non-habit forming alternative to morphine, heroin quickly became the “cure-all drug” that was used to treat anything from coughs to restlessness. Yet, just as quickly as it became a household staple, many began to question the innocence of the substance. While the 1906 law had inherent weaknesses, it signaled the beginning of the end for “cure-all” drugs, such as opiate-filled “soothing syrups” that were used for infants. By tracing and evaluating various reports by doctors and investigative journalists on the medical use of heroin, it is clear that the desire for this legislative measure developed from an offshoot in the medical community-- a transformation that took doctors out from behind the curtain, and brought the public into a new era of awareness.
Doctors work under intense pressure, and if a pill could fix a patient’s problems than many saw nothing wrong with that. What exacerbated the problem was that many hospitals also changed their modus operandi with regards to treatment. In some hospitals, “doctors were told they could be sued if they did not treat pain aggressively, which meant with opiates (95). However once the patient became addicted and could no longer get their prescription legally refilled, the drug dealers saw their chance. What is surprising is the fact that pharmaceutical companies acted in the same manner as drug dealers. Both sides did not care about the end user, and the problems they would have to deal with after using what was given to them. Their motive was purely to profit as much as possible, and they did not care about who would get hurt as a result of their
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In America, it has become a battle to earn a high paying job to cope with the expenses of a typical American. It has become even more of a battle for some people to afford medical prescriptions to keep healthy. Health becomes a crucial issue when discussed among people. No matter what, at one point or another, everyone is going to stand as a victim of the pharmaceutical industry. The bottom line is Americans are paying excessive amounts of money for medical prescriptions. Health-Care spending in the U.S. rose a stunning 9.3% in 2002, which is the greatest increase for the past eleven years. (Steele 46) Many pharmaceutical companies are robbing their clients by charging extreme rates for their products.
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