Merck & Co.

Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the USA and Canada, is a United States pharmaceutical company. It was originally the United States subsidiary of the German company now known as Merck KGaA. In common with many other German assets in the United States, Merck & Co. was confiscated in 1917 during World War I and set up as an independent company. It is now one of the top 5 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world both by capital and revenue.

History

Merck & Co. traces its origins to Friedrich Jacob Merck (1668) and Emanuel Merck (1816) of Darmstadt, Hesse. Emanuel and his successors gradually built up a chemical-pharmaceutical factory that produced — in addition to raw materials for pharmaceutical preparations — a multitude of other chemicals.

In 1891, George Merck established his roots in the United States and set up Merck & Co. in New York as the US arm of the family partnership, E. Merck (named for Emanuel Merck), which is now Merck KGaA. Merck & Co. was confiscated in 1917 during World War I and set up as an independent company in the United States. Today, the US company has about 62,000 employees in 120 countries and 31 factories worldwide. It is one of the top 5 pharmaceutical companies worldwide, much larger than its German ancestor, which currently employees around 28,600 people in 54 countries.

In 2005, CEO Raymond Gilmartin retired at the age of 64 following Merck's voluntary worldwide withdrawal of Vioxx. Former president of manufacturing Richard Clark was named CEO and President of the company.

On November 28, 2005, Merck announced it will cut 7,000 jobs (11 percent of its work force) and close or sell five manufacturing plants in the first phase of a restructuring meant to save up to ^*]4" target="_blank" >billion by the end of the decade. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051128/ap_on_bi_ge/merck_cuts;_ylt=AvwoXkky6QPoBgjvbKQIpu0DW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

Corporate governance

Current members of the board of directors of Merck & Co. are: Lawrence Bossidy, William Bowen, Richard Clark, Johnnetta Cole, William Harrison, William Kelley, Rochelle Lazarus, Thomas Shenk, Anne Tatlock, Samuel Thier, Wendell Weeks, and Peter Wendell.

Mission

Merck & Co. or MSD describes itself as a “a global research-driven pharmaceutical company. Merck discovers, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of innovative products to improve human and animal health, directly and through its joint ventures.” Its mission is “to provide society with superior products and services by developing innovations and solutions that improve the quality of life and satisfy customer needs, and to provide employees with meaningful work and advancement opportunities, and investors with a superior rate of return."

Merck also states that it prides itself on its commitment to diversity and its social conscience. The Merck Company Foundation has distributed over $160 million to educational and non-profit organizations since it was founded in 1957.

Merck has published the Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy since 1899, which has been used by doctors and families alike.

Merck is also famous for publishing their Merck Index, an authoritative collection of information about chemical compounds.

Products

Vytorin (ezetimibe/simvastatin) – a combination cholesterol-lowering preparation marketed in collaboration with Schering-Plough.
Zocor (simvastatin) – a cholesterol-lowering statin.
Propecia/Proscar (finasteride) – used for alopecia (male pattern baldness) and prostatic conditions.
Emend (aprepitant) – treats vomiting and nausea brought about by chemotherapy.
Fosamax (alendronate) – osteroporosis medication.
Singulair (montelukast) – an asthma medication that blocks leukotrienes.
Crixivan (indinavir) – a protease inhibitor HIV medication.
Maxalt (rizatriptan) one of many triptans used to treat migraines.
Cozaar/Hyzaar - used to treat hypertension and to reduce the risk of strokes.
Cosopt - reduces intraocular pressure in people with glaucoma or ocular hypertension.
Invanz - an injectable antibiotic (Carbapenem) used for those with diabetic foot infections.
Primaxin (imipenem with cilastatin) – a broad spectrum carbapenem antibiotic.
Gardasil - a vaccine against HPV, the sexually transmitted disease that is the most common cause of cervical cancer.
Zostavax - a vaccine for prevention of shingles in adults older than 60 years of age.
Rotateq - a vaccine available in the United States to prevent rotavirus gastroenteritis, a leading cause of severe diarrhea in infants and young children.
ProQuad - a vaccine for simultaneous vaccination against measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella in children.

Vioxx

In 1999, the United States Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") approved Vioxx® (known generically as rofecoxib) a Merck product that became widely used for treating arthritis. Vioxx was stronger than existing medications, while easier on the stomach than established anti-inflammatory drugs such as Naproxen. Vioxx became one of the most prescribed drugs in history.

Thereafter, studies by Merck and by others found an increased risk of heart attack associated with Vioxx use when compared with Naproxen. There was no indication of this risk in the original placebo-controlled safety trials, and that it was possible that the effect was more related to Naproxen decreasing the risk of heart attacks than one of Vioxx increasing the risk. Nonetheless, in 2002 Merck adjusted the labeling of Vioxx to reflect possible cardiovascular risks.

On September 23, 2004, Merck received information about results from a clinical trial it was conducting that included findings of increased risk of heart attacks among Vioxx users who had been using the medication for over eighteen months^* On September 28. Merck notified the FDA that it was withdrawing Vioxx from the market, and it publicly announced the withdrawal on September 30. The FDA has since recommended that Vioxx be put back on the market, but with a more prominent warning regarding cardiovascular risks on its label.

On November 5, 2004 the medical journal The Lancet published the results of its analysis of the available studies. It concluded that “the unacceptable cardiovascular risks of Vioxx (rofecoxib) were evident as early as 2000...” ^* The Lancet condemned Merck for having kept the drug on the market, despite its knowledge of the risks, and also criticized the FDA for its failure of regulatory oversight.

On August 19, 2005, Merck was found liable in the death of a man who took Vioxx. The plaintiff was awarded $253.4 million in damages, which were subsequently reduced to $20 million, the maximum allowed by Texas statute. In a followup case in New Jersey, Merck was found not liable. A third case is pending in Louisiana. Merck's stock fell $2.35 to $28.06/share (7.73%) in the minutes after the verdict was announced and three months later 7,000 Merck employees were laid off. At the time of the verdict, there were over 4,000 other lawsuits pending against Merck regarding Vioxx, and several thousand against Pfizer, the maker of competing anti-inflammatory drug Bextra, which, in some cases, causes an adverse skin reaction which burns patients "from the inside out."

Merck is currently trying to get a successor drug to Vioxx, called Arcoxia (known generically as etoricoxib) approved in the USA. The FDA has said it will approve Arcoxia if it proves to be safer than Vioxx. Two other drug companies, Pfizer and Novartis, are trying to get alternatives to Vioxx approved. Their drugs are called Dynastat (parecoxib) and Prexige (lumiracoxib), respectively.

Diversity

Merck & Co. was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in 2004 by Working Mothers magazine.

External links

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