Merck Witness Testifies That Researchers Are Not Bought

August 2, 2005

ANGLETON, Texas - Merck's former marketing director testified that the company does not "buy off" scientists by giving grants for studies that look favorably on Merck pharmaceuticals. David Anstice, now working within a difference Merck position, testified in a deposition regarding Merck's practice of giving grants to doctors. Plaintiff's attorney Mark Lanier argues that the practice was part of the company's aggressive policy to endorse the once profitable drug Vioxx by inducing skeptical doctors with money.

Lanier asked Anstice, "You're offering them presents to try to get them on your side, aren't you?" Anstice emphasized that the grants have "specific medical and scientific purposes" and that "Merck does not buy off scientists." Anstice suggested instead that Merck's policy's intend to bring scientists "to a balanced position." The depostion took place as part of the first of more than 4,300 Vioxx-related cases accusing Merck of minimizing safety risks while relentlessly marketing the drug. The plaintiff, Carol Ernst, sued Merck over the death of her husband, Robert, who died in his sleep at age 59 in 2001 after taking Vioxx for eight months to alleviate pain in his hands.

In 2001, the FDA issued Merck a warning about its extensive television ad campaign promoting Vioxx, one commercial even featuring Olympic skater Dorothy Hamill, that failed to warn consumers about a study showing Vioxx to cause five times as many heart attacks as the older painkillers. Dr. Nancy Santanello, Merck's top epidemiologist, testified earlier that the FDA approved those ads before they aired.