MERCK'S CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

Dr. Topol said that "despite studies showing the magnitude of the public health problem, for several years Merck did nothing to investigate. This surely represents a conflict between the interests of the public and the interests of the company. Instead of doing the requisite research in patients with heart disease - who frequently have arthritis as well and are thus prime users of anti-inflammatory medicines - the company undertook studies that avoided them. At the same time Merck spent at least $100 million a year for direct-to-consumer Vioxx advertising, while the company's employees and their consultants published several papers in medical journals rebutting studies reporting Vioxx's heart attack risk."

New York Times, October 2, 2004.