Drug Company Merck Drew Up Doctor "Hit List" 281
Philip K Dickhead sends in a piece from the Australian media, a couple of weeks old, that hasn't seen much discussion here. In a class-action lawsuit in Australia against Merck for its Vioxx anti-arthritis drug, information has come out that the company developed a "hit list" of doctors who had expressed anything but enthusiasm for the drug. Vioxx was withdrawn from the market in 2004 because it causes heart attacks and strokes. Merck settled a class action in the US for $4.85 billion but did not admit guilt. "An international drug company made a hit list of doctors who had to be 'neutralized' or discredited because they criticized the anti-arthritis drug the pharmaceutical giant produced. Staff at US company Merck & Co. emailed each other about the list of doctors — mainly researchers and academics — who had been negative about the drug Vioxx or Merck and a recommended course of action. The email, which came out in the Federal Court in Melbourne yesterday as part of a class action against the drug company, included the words 'neutralize,' 'neutralized,' or 'discredit' against some of the doctors' names. It is also alleged the company used intimidation tactics against critical researchers, including dropping hints it would stop funding to institutions and claims it interfered with academic appointments. 'We may need to seek them out and destroy them where they live,' a Merck employee wrote, according to an email excerpt read to the court by Julian Burnside QC, acting for the plaintiff."
Neutralized (Score:1, Funny)
The email, which came out in the Federal Court in Melbourne yesterday as part of a class action against the drug company, included the words 'neutralize,' 'neutralized,' or 'discredit' against some of the doctors' name
<blonde German baddie from Die Hard>
I don't want neutralize, I want dead.
</blonde German baddie from Die Hard>
Name... (Score:3, Funny)
Philip K Dickhead sends in a piece from the Australian media, a couple of weeks old, that hasn't seen much discussion here.
I'm not sure I'd like to discuss anything submitted by 'Philip K Dickhead'.
Re:Be Skeptical of Drug Company "Scientific" Claim (Score:5, Funny)
Obviously we need more gay doctors.
Re:Best practice for a doctor: (Score:4, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:3, Funny)
Why Aren't We Hearing This from The MSM? (Score:3, Funny)
This just can't be true. We'd have heard it reported on CBS, NBC, or Fox if it were. Right?