The plain-spoken ceo is on something of a confessional tour. His new mantra is to sound contrite. Rather than blame the media or some other group for Merck’s problems, Dick has recently taken to public hand-wringing when asked about not only the Vytorin scandal, but Merck’s credibility, in general. His new favorite phrase: ‘trust deficit.’ [...]

The Merck ceo is going to school. In the wake of the Vytorin controversy, the plain-spoken Dick strikes a contrite pose and concedes that a problem or two exists in pharma’s corporate culture.
“There is a trust deficit we have to fix,” he tells The Star-Ledger of New Jersey* when asked about the lessons learned [...]

Over the past several years, a big stink has been raised about conflicts of interest, such as when doctors write papers about a particular drug and also serve as a consultant in some fashion to the company that makes the medicine. Right or wrong, pharma regularly defends such situations by explaining that the best specialists [...]

Last year, the Merck ceo could do no wrong - successful new products were launched and a big chunk of Vioxx litigation was settled. Employee morale and Merck stock were both up. Of course, what a difference a few months can make, especially on Wall Street.
Merck shares were below $35 when Dick succeeded Ray [...]

Maybe before the American College of Cardiology meeting in late March?
The bottom-line results, of course, were released on Jan. 14, and set off a firestorm - the pricey cholesterol med failed to show any benefit over the much cheaper Zocor in reducing plaque in the carotid artery, and even showed a statistically insignificant buildup, even [...]

As early as last spring, there was scuttlebutt about the controversial Vytorin data - the bet-the-franchise study that failed to find any statistical advantage over the much cheaper Zocor in reducing arterial plaque. The results were delayed for nearly two years while the primary endpoint was changed.
Meanwhile, Vytorin and Zetia (which, along with Zocor comprise [...]

This is a great opportunity for Loescher, but presents Merck with a quandary. The 49-year-old Austrian joined Merck only last year - in April 2006 - at the behest of Merck’s board, particularly Larry Bossidy, who has just retired after years of being a key behind-the-scenes orchestrator.
Loescher, who was widely viewed as Clark’s successor, quickly [...]

Nearly two years after being tapped to succeed the embattled Ray Gilmartin as ceo, the Merck board elevated Clark to the chairmanship as well.
This isn’t surprising. Under Clark’s stewardship, Merck has succeeded in undertaking a large reorganization, getting a few key product approvals - particularly the Gardasil vaccine - and convinced Wall Street that the [...]

Never mind those Vioxx lawsuits, Dick Clark got what he deserved: a $1.8 million bonus for 2006 and a pay hike that brings him in line with ceo’s at other struggling drugmakers. The low-key leader will now pull down $1.7 million, up from $1.2 million, as of last week.
Actually, the 8-K filed today with the [...]

Dick Clark’s pay included $1.2 million in salary and more than $210,000 in miscellaneous items, including nearly $31,000 to use the corporate plane and $373 for a security alarm system, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.
Most of his compensation came from stock and option awards, including three that were awarded last March and, [...]