The Merck corporation has pled guilty to a criminal charge over the marketing and sales of the painkiller Vioxx. In a negotiated settlement, they agreed to pay $950 million, which includes the resolution of civil cases and federal and state fraud cases. While doctors can prescribe drugs for any purpose they see fit, drug companies are prohibited from marketing them for uses not approved by the FDA.
Vioxx was pulled off the market in 2004 because evidence showed that it posed a substantial heart risk.
The New York Times reports:
“No person was held liable for Merck’s conduct. ’It’s just a cost of doing business until a pharmaceutical executive does a perp walk,’ said Erik Gordon, a pharmaceutical analyst”.