Drugcompany Dodgeball

On July 18, questioning began in the nation’s first trial against Merck, who patient advocates say knowingly marketed a dangerous and deadly drug. Carol Ernst’s husband died after taking Vioxx for pain relief. She charges that Merck lied to his doctor about the risks associated with Vioxx.

Merck claims it was honest about the risks of Vioxx, but on day 1 of the trial its witness struggled to defend a training “game” for marketing executives titled “Vioxx Dodge Ball.” This cartoonish manual begins with a series of possible questions from doctors couched amid dodge balls. They include “I am concerned with the cardiovascular effects of Vioxx” and “I’m concerned about the safety profile with Vioxx.” After these questions are a number of pages with the word “DODGE!” plastered across the middle.


I'm sure you all already know about this, I'm always behind in the political news arena. But its something that I think would amuse Greg.