Merck & Co.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Merck & Co Inc. (Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) outside the United States and Canada) |
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| Type | Public (NYSE: MRK) |
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| Founded | 1891 as a subsidary of Merck KGaA 1917 as an independent company |
| Headquarters | Whitehouse Station, New Jersey |
| Key people | Richard T. Clark, President & CEO |
| Industry | Drug Manufacturer- Major |
| Products | Propecia®/Proscar® Zocor® See more complete products listing. |
| Revenue |  $22.012 billion USD (2005) |
| Operating income | $5.536 billion USD (2005) |
| Net income | $4.631 billion USD (2005) |
| Employees | 61,500 (2005) |
| Slogan | Where patients come first |
| Website | www.merck.com |
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK), also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the USA and Canada, is a United States pharmaceutical company. It was established in 1891 as 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 7 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world both by capital and revenue.
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[edit] History
Merck & Co. traces its origins to Friedrich Jacob Merck who purchased a drug store in Darmstadt in 1668; and Emanuel Merck who took over the store several generations later, in 1816. 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. Between the wars and during World War II, the company was led by George W. Merck, who oversaw America's germ-warfare research at Fort Detrick. Today, the US company has about 61,500 employees in 120 countries and 31 factories worldwide. It is one of the top 7 pharmaceutical companies worldwide, much larger than its German ancestor, which currently employs 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Products
- Vytorin (ezetimibe/simvastatin) – a combination cholesterol-lowering preparation marketed in collaboration with Schering-Plough.
- Zetia (ezetimibe) - cholesterol absorption inhibitor - lowers LDL
- 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 leukotrines.
- 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 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.
- Mectizan/Stromectol (ivermectin) - used to treat river blindness.
- Zolinza (Vorinostat) - a histone deacetylase inhibitor for the treatment of cutaneous T cell lymphoma.
- Januvia (sitagliptin) - a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors for the treatment of diabetes
[edit] 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 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[1] 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...” [2] 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.
[edit] Diversity
Merck & Co. was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in 2004 by Working Mothers magazine.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- About Merck & Co.
- Jobs at Merck & Co.
- Merck & Co company profile from Pharmaceutical Business Review
- The Merck Manuals
- Merck Drug Information
- Yahoo! - Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile
- About Merck KGaA
- History of Merck
- Information about first lawsuit against Merck from Yahoo! Finance
- NEJM -Failing the Public Health — Rofecoxib, Merck, and the FDA
- Merck Frosst Canada
| Merck & Co., Inc. |
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Corporate Directors: Lawrence Bossidy | William Bowen | Richard Clark | Johnnetta Cole | William Harrison | William Kelley | Rochelle Lazarus | Thomas Shenk | Anne Tatlock | Samuel Thier | Wendell Weeks | Peter Wendell |
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Key products: Indinavir | Aprepitant | Alendronate | Rizatriptan | Finasteride | Montelukast | Rofecoxib | Ezetimibe/simvastatin | Ezetimibe | Simvastatin | The Merck Index | The Merck Manual |
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Annual Revenue: $22.9 billion USD ( |
