Pfizer and Merck: Different Strokes

Business Week discusses the difference between the two drugmakers reactions to safety issues surrounding Celebrex and Vioxx.

Merck and Ethics

Raymond Gilmartin, CEO of Merck, spoke at Michigan. Gilmartin took the occasion to defend the timing of his company's decisions about Vioxx.

He said that although some Merck insiders urged him to inform the FDA of the findings and keep Vioxx on the market, he acted decisively, withdrawing the drug within a week.

The Merck CEO reserved his most enthusiastic comments for his corporate bioethics efforts:

After taking the reins in 1994, Gilmartin said within a year he had established the company’s first ethics office. He said Merck had established numerous ethics systems during his tenure — including a confidential phone number employees can call for advice concerning their ethical dilemmas.

Merck’s commitment to ethical behavior goes beyond complying with U.S. and international laws, he said. “As Plato put it, good people do not need laws to tell them how to behave responsibly; bad people always find a way around the laws.”

Gilmartin said Merck’s code of ethics is displayed in 25 different languages at company headquarters in Trenton, New Jersey. “Over time, ethical behavior turns into a competitive advantage,” he said.

Merck's CEO did well by Michigan business students: "The capacity audience, mostly Business School students, treated Gilmartin to a loud and spirited ovation after he concluded remarks."

The Great Pharma Market Collapse

Merck lost 27% in a day on news about Vioxx after holding out on the matter for some time. It will be interesting to follow how the issue is spun in the marketplace, specifically whether these lapses are characterized by either bioethicists or market analysts as a failure either of the health system or of organizational bioethics.