Merck

Merck is an international pharmaceutical company and publishes the industry standard Merck Drug Guide. Top competitors include Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, and Sanofi-Aventis. Top brand name pharmaceuticals include Singulair (asthma), Cozaar and Hyzaar (hypertension) and Vytorin, Zetia and Zocor (cholesteral). Merck also manufactures Januvia (type 2 diabetes), Fosamax (osteoporosis), Cosopt and Trusopt (eye disease). The company manufactures childhood and adult vaccines for measles, mumps, hepatitis, and shingles.

In the fiscal year ending in December of 2011, Merck reported global sales of approximately $48 billion and had 86,000 employees (down from 100,000 employees in 2009, when it had $27.43 billion in sales).

Ties to Pete Peterson's "Fix the Debt"
The Campaign to Fix the Debt is the latest incarnation of a decades-long effort by former Nixon man turned Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson to slash earned benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare under the guise of fixing the nation's "debt problem." is part of the Campaign to Fix the Debt as of February 2013.

This article is part of the Center for Media and Democracy's investigation of Pete Peterson's Campaign to "Fix the Debt." Please visit our main SourceWatch page on Fix the Debt.

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
Merck was a "Trustee" level sponsor of 2011 American Legislative Exchange Council Annual Conference, which in 2010, equated to $5,000. In September 2012, it announced that would not renew its ALEC membership after 2012. See ALEC Corporations for a list of for-profit corporations with ties to ALEC, current or past, and Corporations Which Have Cut Ties to ALEC for a list of those corporations that have publicly cut funding to ALEC.

Acquisition of Schering-Plough
Schering-Plough was a global pharmaceutical company based in New Jersey, United States. It manufactured prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, animal health products, and personal care products. Well known brand names included the allergy medications Clarinex and Nasonex. The firm also specialized in anti-inflammatory, infectious disease, cancer, cardiovascular and women's health drugs. Schering-Plough's OTC products included Claritin allergy pills, Afrin nasal sprays, Dr. Scholl's foot care products and the Coppertone sun care line. Its products were marketed in some 140 countries.

In 2009, Merck agreed to acquire Schering-Plough for $41 billion.

Vioxx (subsection)
See also Vioxx.

Vytorin
Merck and Schering-Plough, which co-marketed the cholesterol drug Vytorin, went into damage-control mode taking out newspaper ads, reported Advertising Age in January 2008. The pharmaceutical companies' public relations campaign followed their reluctant publication of a study which revealed that neither drug in present in Vytorin reduced fatty plaque build-up in arteries. The study was completed in 2006, but Merck and Schering did not release it for 21 months, allegedly due to "complexity of the data and their own scientific concerns."

The drug companies' newspaper ads, which ran in the New York Times and USA Today, referred to the damning study as "a single study that has generated a lot of confusion." They stressed that the drugs "have been proven to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol." However, the study showed was that Vytorin was not "any better than generic Zocor in reducing the buildup of fatty plaque." Members of Congress called for an investigation into why the "massive advertisement campaign for Vytorin was allowed to continue," after the study was belatedly made public. Class-action lawsuits were file, alleging that Merck and Schering-Plough "misrepresented and withheld significant information" from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the public. In July 2008, a major European study of over 1,800 patients and researchers at 173 hospitals and other sites found that Vytorin:


 * "was no better than placebo at lowering the risk of major cardiovascular events -- including heart attack, stroke, heart surgery and death -- in patients with aortic stenosis." Vytorin "did cut cholesterol levels about 60 percent," but that effect was previously known and is also seen when Zocor (one of two drugs that comprise Vytorin) is taken alone. The European study also observed an increase in cancer cases and deaths among patients taking Vytorin, but researchers said this was not likely due to the drug.

Mercury levels and Thimerosol vaccines
In early 2005, the Los Angeles Times obtained a memo from Merck revealing that, prior to the first public disclosure, senior executives were concerned about mercury levels in vaccinations containing a widely used sterilizing agent. The March of 1991 memo revealed concerns about 6-month-old children getting a mercury dose as much as 87 times higher than guidelines for the maximum daily consumption of mercury from fish. According to Dr. Maurice R. Hilleman in a memo to the president of Merck's vaccine division:


 * "When viewed in this way, the mercury load appears rather large."

The memo was prepared as U.S. health authorities aggressively expanded their immunization schedule by adding five new shots for children in their first six months. Many of these shots, as well as some previously included on the schedule, contained thimerosal, an anti-bacterial compound that is nearly 50% ethyl mercury, a neurotoxin. In 1999, federal health officials disclosed that many infants were being exposed to dangerously high mercury levels, following a review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, the memo revealed that Merck was aware of the concern much earlier.

As of February of 2005, over 4,200 claims have been filed in a special federal tribunal, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, by parents asserting that their children suffered autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders from mercury poisoning. Thimerosal has been largely removed from pediatric vaccines as a "precautionary measure."

Gardasil
During 2006, five products received FDA approval, including Gardasil:


 * “The first vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer and genital warts caused by certain kinds of human papillomavirus.” Gardasil later became a subject of controversy when Gov. Rick Perry of Texas signed an executive order that required all girls entering the 6th grade to receive this vaccination, starting in September 2008.

See also Gardasil.

Tobacco issues
Merck was an early supporter of smoke-free workplaces. In 1988, Merck launched a corporate policy prohibiting smoking in all of their workplaces and that paid the full costs of approved smoking cessation classes for workers and their spouses. The policy covered over 29,000 U.S. workers. Merck CEO Roy Vagelos, M.D. stated before a Congressional hearing on March 17, 1994 that during the first eighteen months of their policy, the number of Merck employees who smoked fell by 25 percent.

On April 4, 1993, William Ian Campbell, CEO of Philip Morris, wrote to Merck about Merck's nonsmoking workplace policy. Campbell explained why he believed the EPA's rating secondhand tobacco smoke a human carcinogen was flawed, and suggested a meeting to discuss "cost-effective ways to protect and respect the rights of all employees by accommodating non-smokers and smokers at Merck." In his letter, Campbell further cited the "arbitrary and damaging manner in which certain industries are made scapegoats." He suggested that PM and Merck could possibly become allies. Noel M. Howard, Director of Executive Communications at Merck wrote back to Campbell on May 14, 1995 and declined the meeting:


 * "Given our strong corporate commitment to a smoke-free workplace, and in light of Philip Morris' understandable interest in promoting the tobacco use, we do not believe that a meeting between representatives of our two companies would be productive."

Bone Measurement Institute
The Bone Measurement Institute is a front group formed by big drug maker Merck to help expand the market for its drug Fosamax. See also Bone Measurement Institute.

Executive Management
As of February 2013:
 * Kenneth C. Frazier - President & CEO
 * Willie A. Deese - Executive VP & President, Manufacturing
 * Richard R. DeLuca Jr. - Executive VP & President, Merck Animal Health
 * Cuong Viet Do - Executive VP & Chief Strategy Officer
 * Clark Golestani, Executive VP & Chief Information Officer
 * Mirian M. Graddick-Weir - Executive VP, Human Resources
 * Bridgette P. Heller - Executive VP & President, Consumer Care
 * Michael J. Holston - Executive VP & Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer
 * Peter N. Kellogg - Executive VP & CFO
 * Peter S. Kim, Ph.D. - Executive VP & President, Merck Research Laboratories
 * Bruce N. Kuhlik - Executive VP & General Counsel
 * Michael Rosenblatt - Executive VP & Chief Medical Officer
 * Adam H. Schechter - President, Global Human Health

Former executives include:
 * Richard S. Bowles III, Ph.D. - former Executive VP & Chief Compliance Officer
 * Raymond V. Gilmartin, former CEO (total pay of $37.8 million in 2005)
 * Raul E. Kohan - former Executive VP & President, Animal Health
 * J. Chris Scalet - former Executive VP, Global Services & Chief Information Officer
 * Mervyn Turner, Ph.D. - Chief Strategy Officer & Senior VP, Emerging Markets R&D

Key executives and 2010 salaries:
 * Richard Clark (64), Chairman - $1,800,000
 * Kenneth Frazier (55), CEO - 1,044,688
 * Peter Kellegg (54), Executive VP & CFO - $903,978

Board members

 * Leslie A. Brun - Chairman & CEO, Sarr Group, LLC
 * Thomas R. Cech, Ph.D. - Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Colorado
 * Kenneth C. Frazier - Chairman, President & CEO, Merck; Director, Exxon Mobil
 * Thomas H. Glocer - retired CEO, Thomas Reuters Corporation
 * William B. Harrison, Jr. - Lead Board Director, Merck; retired Chairman, JP Morgan Chase & Co.
 * C. Robert Kidder - Director, Morgan Stanley
 * Rochelle B. Lazarus - Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather; Director, General Electric
 * Carlos E. Represas - retired Chairman, Nestle Group Mexico
 * Patricia F. Russo - Lead Director, General Motors; Director, Alcoa, Inc.; Director, Hewlett-Packard Company
 * Craig B. Thompson, M.D. - President & CEO, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
 * Wendell P. Weeks - Director, Corning, Inc.
 * Peter C. Wendell - Managing Director, Sierra Ventures

Former board members include:
 * Richard T. Clark - former chairman of the board
 * Steven F. Goldstone - retired CEO, Nabisco; non-executive chairman, ConAgra Foods, Inc.
 * Harry R. Jacobson, M.D. - Vice Chancellor Emeritus, Health Affairs, Vanderbilt University
 * William N. Kelley, M.D. - Professor, University of Pennsylvania Medical School
 * Thomas E. Shenk, Ph.D.
 * Anne M. Tatlock - Director, Fortune Brands, Inc.

Political contributions
Merck gave $$1,497,944 to federal candidates in the 2008 election cycle through its political action committee (PAC); 51% to Democrats and 49% to Republicans.

Public relations & lobbying
The company spent $$6,410,000 for lobbying in 2009. Of this total, $1,530,000 was to 12 outside lobbying firms with the remainder being spent using in-house lobbyists.

Contact
Merck One Merck Drive Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889

Phone: 908-423-1000

Fax: 908-735-1253

Web address: http://www.merck.com

SourceWatch articles

 * AIDS industry
 * Animal testing
 * Australian class action against Merck over Vioxx safety risks
 * Carlos E. Represas
 * Crisis management
 * Direct-to-consumer advertising
 * Food and Drug Administration
 * Gardasil
 * Humane Movement
 * Huntingdon Life Sciences
 * Medical paper ghostwriting
 * Merck/stats, details
 * National Primate Research Center System
 * Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide
 * Pharmaceutical industry
 * Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
 * Using celebrities
 * Vioxx
 * War on Cancer
 * Women in Government
 * Merck Family Fund

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 * Fix the Debt Portal Page
 * Fix the Debt's Leadership
 * Fix the Debt's Partner Groups
 * Fix the Debt's State Chapters
 * Fix the Debt's Lobbyists
 * Fix the Debt's Parent Group
 * Fix the Debt's Corporations
 * Pete Peterson
 * Peter G. Peterson Foundation
 * America Speaks
 * Simpson-Bowles Commission
 * Erskine Bowles
 * Alan Simpson
 * Social Security
 * Medicare
 * Medicaid
 * Dawn Graham

External articles

 * Maria Cheng, "Doctors say Vytorin-cancer link can't be ruled out," Associated Press, September 2, 2008
 * Alex Berenson "For Widely Used Drug, Question of Usefulness Is Still Lingering," New York Times, September 1, 2008
 * Judith Siers-Poisson, The Politics and PR of Cervical Cancer, a four part series, PR Watch.org, July, 2007.
 * Reed Abelson and Stephanis Saul, "Ties to Industry Cloud a Clinic's Mission", New York Times, December 17, 2005.
 * Darren Rovell, "The burden of pitching pills", ESPN.com, November 19, 2004.
 * Alex Berenson, "Some Pointed Questioning at the Vioxx Trial in Texas", New York Times, July 19, 2005
 * PETA Names the 10 Worst CEOs for Animals in Laboratories, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, accessed December 2009

External resources
resource_id=29711 resource_code=merck search_term=Merck
 * Merck staph vaccine enters phase II, Insidevaccines.com Sept 2008