“Merck & Co. agreed to pay $950 million and plead guilty to a criminal misdemeanor charge to resolve government allegations that the company illegally promoted its former painkiller Vioxx and deceived the government about the drug’s safety,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
“The settlement of a seven-year U.S. government investigation brings Merck closer to resolving the mountain of litigation that followed the company’s 2004 withdrawal of the big-selling drug from the market after a study showed it increased the risk for heart attacks and strokes,”wrote WSJ writers PETER LOFTUS And BRENT KENDALL
“It marks the latest big payout by a drug company to settle health-care fraud allegations, underscoring heightened government scrutiny of the way drug makers do business. GlaxoSmithKline PLC recently reached an agreement in principle to pay $3 billion to settle U.S. allegations of improper drug marketing. Pfizer Inc., Eli Lilly & Co. and AstraZeneca PLC also have reached costly settlements in recent years.”
