In a story that appears in the Wall Street Journal, dated 1/31/08, it is reported that Merck is being investigated for consumer fraud by a federal-grand jury for its sales and marketing practices of Vioxx.
Here are some excerpts from the story:
Merck & Co. is the subject of a federal grand-jury probe into its sales and marketing practices for Vioxx, the painkiller it pulled from the market in 2004, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“The potential of an indictment can clearly be an incentive for [Merck] to settle civil cases,” says Joseph L. Doherty, of Doherty & Quill, a Boston law firm. Mr. Doherty has one Vioxx client, whom he says he hadn’t intended to enroll in the settlement. “The mere potential of an indictment probably won’t change too many people’s minds about whether to enter the proposed settlement.”
In February 2007, the Whitehouse Station, N.J., company disclosed in its regulatory filings that the U.S. Department of Justice issued a subpoena requesting information relating to the company’s research, marketing and sales activities with respect to Vioxx, as part of a federal investigation under criminal statutes.
Merck also disclosed in that filing that 31 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia are conducting an investigation of its sales and marketing of Vioxx.
Read the full story here
No wonder Merck wants the plaintiffs to sign the Settlement Agreement Now!
In my opinion, this is only the start of examinations into the criminal activities of Merck & Co..
For more information please go to VPEG
