Drug Company Merck Drew Up Doctor "Hit List"

[friendly_iconoclast]

Via Slashdot:


http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/25/1626200

Original article:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25272600-2702,00.html

Drug Company Merck Drew Up Doctor "Hit List"
Posted by kdawson on Saturday April 25, @02:19PM
from the i'll-have-your-job-young-man dept.

Philip K Dickhead sends in a piece from the Australian media, a couple of weeks old, that hasn't seen much discussion here. In a class-action lawsuit in Australia against Merck for its Vioxx anti-arthritis drug, information has come out that the company developed a "hit list" of doctors who had expressed anything but enthusiasm for the drug. Vioxx was withdrawn from the market in 2004 because it causes heart attacks and strokes. Merck settled a class action in the US for $4.85 billion but did not admit guilt.

"An international drug company made a hit list of doctors who had to be 'neutralized' or discredited because they criticized the anti-arthritis drug the pharmaceutical giant produced. Staff at US company Merck & Co. emailed each other about the list of doctors — mainly researchers and academics — who had been negative about the drug Vioxx or Merck and a recommended course of action. The email, which came out in the Federal Court in Melbourne yesterday as part of a class action against the drug company, included the words 'neutralize,' 'neutralized,' or 'discredit' against some of the doctors' names. It is also alleged the company used intimidation tactics against critical researchers, including dropping hints it would stop funding to institutions and claims it interfered with academic appointments. 'We may need to seek them out and destroy them where they live,' a Merck employee wrote, according to an email excerpt read to the court by Julian Burnside QC, acting for the plaintiff."

[crazylikafox]

1. Unbelievable. k&r

[11 Bravo]

2. Philip K. Dickhead? That's unfortunate.

[Overseas]

3. K&R -- power corrupts !! //nt

[NRaleighLiberal]

4. I worked in Pharma for 25 years (very low down on the totem pole) - this is not surprising to me.

They booted me out last year. don't get me started on big pharma.

[DCKit]

15. My sister works in Pharma.

We had this discussion yesterday. She said it's worse than I know and I told her "Whenever big Pharma announces another wonder drug, I'm skeptical. When they admit to wrongdoing, I wait for the other shoe to drop." She said "Oh, you do get it."

Do I need to mention she wants out?

[NRaleighLiberal]

5. dupe - delete

dupe - delete

[Overseas]

6. Kicking again because this is amazing exposure of what we imagine

could be going on behind the scenes.

Healthcare for profit.

We pay for the R&D, and the drug companies pay to to discredit any opposition to their sales goals.

[PA Democrat]

7. Big pharma places profits above all, including people's lives and livelihoods..

K & R.

[mzmolly]

8. "a hit list of doctors who had to be 'neutralized' or discredited because they criticized..."

Unfortunately, this is far too common. And, not only in regard to Vioxx. Try critiquing any vaccine in any fashion.

"Even worse were allegations of Merck damage control by intimidation," he wrote, according to Mr Burnside.

"This has happened to at least eight (clinical) investigators ... I suppose I was mildly threatened myself but I never have spoken or written on these issues."

Mr Burnside told the court Dr Fries went on to describe instances of intimidation, including one colleague who thought his academic appointment had been jeopardised and another who received phone calls alleging "anti-Merck" bias.

Dr Fries said in the letter that Merck had been systematically playing down the side effects of Vioxx and said the company's behaviour "seriously impinges on academic freedom".

Par for the course.

[kickysnana]

9. They made Lyme Disease invisible. Welcome to America 21st Century. n/t

[robinlynne]

10. holy shit.

[pleah]

11. K&R I wonder how many times drug companies have done this and didn't get caught.

I would love to see a few of these evil bastards go to jail.

[Raineyb]

12. I did about 10 years in big Pharma

And I can't say that I'm surprised by this.

Regards

[BlueIris]

13. Psychopaths. nt

[Tutankhamun]

14. Absolutely unbelievable. Despicable bastards.

[Vidar]

16. Underregulated corporate monpolies are turning the US into

a third world country with nukes.

[ihavenobias]

17. K & R n/t

[arikara]

18. Big pharma are the ones that need to be neutralized

its so too bad that our governments, "media" and universities are in their pockets.

[Hissyspit]

19. Bush FDA tried to cover up Vioxx troubles.

Tried to kill my mother, motherfucking bastards.