“Isn’t time for Merck to just close up shop. Has there ever been a company in American history that went from the apex in terms of science and integrity to the gutter in such a short period of time.”

Actually, the revelation that SKF/GSK may have obfuscated data about suicidality in the paxil trials may surpass Merck’s tumble in reputation. I’ve always found Merck to be a very arrogant company, even well before the VIOXX debacle (though I was absolutely shocked that Merck would have acted as they did). The downfall of GSK stems directly from the merger of Glaxo and SmithKline. I had worked with (not for) Glaxo prior to the merger and found that their trials and research practices seemed to be designed and managed to err on the side of safety. Much of what I learned from this has impacted how I handle my role in development and design/manage programs. SKF on the other hand, always seemed to be like a Merck wannabe and, as the mishandling of paxil data was set up and entrenched in the SKF days.

The constant mergers of big companies to make supercompanies that only develop blockbusters (and for whom even a $1B settlement is just the cost of business) has hurt consumers (patients), the industry, the medical community (due to overall decrease in development) and the economy. Maybe it’s time to break up “Ma Bell” and limit merger/acquisition activity.

CHASELY: correct me if I’m wrong, but are you saying that the only reason industry insiders complain about lack of compliance to outright fraud is because we’re jealous that we’re not getting the financial gain executives have by violating regulations? You really seem to be presenting 2 options to us: stop complaining and join in; or get out and shut up. I’m sure I’m not the only “complaining” who has paid a hefty penalty by trying to correct things and improve compliance while diligently working towards the development of what I hope will be the more efficacious treatments with better safety profiles that we need. Now if you want me to get out instead of trying to get the companies to be responsible and take corrective action, how about paying my mortgage and/or giving me a job that suits my qualifications? And another thing, I don’t want to hear a word of complaint if/when someone you love can’t afford treatment/has a less than acceptable response to the limited treatments available/is given a medication they should not be taking.

“Merck believes its pricing and sales and marketing policies and practices were consistent with all applicable regulations and contracts during the relevant time. ”

How in the world can they have the audacity to say this? becuase they’re Big Pharma and that’s the way it works! The lawyers for the company negotiate a monetary settlement which amount to pennies on the dollar for the company, admits no wrongdoing and absolves its’ executives of any prosecution. This has been seen over and over and over again. The fine is paid out of the stockholders pockets and the execs get away completely free. Until they are held accountable for their misdeeds, this crap will never stop. next will be Lilly with its’ billion dollar fine for pushing Zyprexa to people that didn’t need it and causing God knows what problems in those patients. They’ll also no doubt settle claiming no wrongdoing and protecting their stupid unethical executives. White-collar crime rules in Big Pharma!