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... ... middle of paper ... ...ht, J. R. (2012). Ethics and the Conduct of Business. In Ethics and the conduct of business (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Driver, Julia, “The History of Utilitarianism” , The Stanford Encyclopeia of Philosophy (Summer 2009 Edition), Edwad N. Zalta (ed.), http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2009/entries/utilitarianism-history/ Freeman, R. Edward, “Stockholders and Stakeholders: A new persepective on Corporate Governance” , California Management Review, Spring 83, (Vol. 25 Issue 3, p88- 106) Lawrence, A. T., & Weber, J. (2011). Business and society: Stakeholders, ethics, public policy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Rubin, R. (2004, October 11). USATODAY.com - How did Vioxx debacle happen? USATODAY.com - How Did Vioxx Debacle Happen? Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-10- 12-vioxx-cover_x.htm
Despite the obvious health risks, in February of 2005, government advisers concluded that the benefits of Vioxx outweighed the dangers and that it was the patients decision whether or not to keep using the drugs. They stated that the prescription products should ...
In 1999, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a painkiller for osteoarthritis called Vioxx. The documentary Prescription for Disaster covers the negative side effects of this drug and how it impacted people who took it. Almost immediately after the FDA approved the drug, its side effects became apparent. Patients that took Vioxx developed heart problems and stroke that, many times, resulted in death. It is estimates that of the 88,000 Americans that had heart attacks caused by Vioxx, 38,000 of them died. The effects of Vioxx were both short term and long term. Although Merck refused to admit to that the drug had effects if taken for less than 18 months, Vioxx was eventually taken off shelves. Vioxx brings light to important issues
"In the past two decades or so, health care has been commercialized as never before, and professionalism in medicine seems to be giving way to entrepreneurialism," commented Arnold S. Relman, professor of medicine and social medicine at Harvard Medical School (Wekesser 66). This statement may have a great deal of bearing on reality. The tangled knot of insurers, physicians, drug companies, and hospitals that we call our health system are not as unselfish and focused on the patients' needs as people would like to think. Pharmaceutical companies are particularly ruthless, many of them spending millions of dollars per year to convince doctors to prescribe their drugs and to convince consumers that their specific brand of drug is needed in order to cure their ailments. For instance, they may present symptoms that are perfectly harmless, and lead potential citizens to believe that, because of these symptoms, they are "sick" and in need of medication. In some instances, the pharmaceutical industry in the United States misleads both the public and medical professionals by participating in acts of both deceptive marketing practices and bribery, and therefore does not act within the best interests of the consumers.
FDA, so many people were harmed. Even other countries versions of the FDA approved it which
Boatright, J. R. (2009). In D. Musselwhite, D. Repetto, & P. Walsh (Eds.), Ethics and the conduct of business (Sixth ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. (Original work published 1997)
Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2013). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases: 2011 custom edition (9th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Jennings, M. (2009). Business ethics: Case studies and selected readings (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-
Svensson, G., & Wood, G. (2003). The dynamics of business ethics: a function of time and culture-cases and models. Management Decision, 41(4),
The concept that “business ethics is an oxymoron” is a topic that at first may seem like a contradiction. This refers to the “apparently inherent” conflict between morality and the pursuit of profit (Transcript: Ethics: Business an Oxymoron?, n.d.). The implication is that if a company has to choose between profits and doing the right thing, the business will choose profit because that is what businesses are all about. However, this notion comes from a point of view not familiar with how businesses actually operate. There are more benefits and incentives for a business to act ethically than to act unethically, and that is what this essay tries to prove. Having strong ethical components in a business is the only way businesses
Ferrell, O., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2011). Business ethics (8th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage.
Moon, C & Bonny, C 2001, Business Ethics: Facing Up to the Issues, 1st Edition, Profile Books Ltd, Great Britain.
Velazquez, M. G. (2006). Business Ethics. Concepts and Cases 6th Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Cohen, S., Grace, D., & Holmes, W. R. (2010). Business ethics: Canadian edition. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.
Shaw, W. H., & Barry, V. (2011). Moral Issues in Business (Eleventh ed., pp. 230-244).