The Pharmaceutical Industry and Unethical Research

Latoya Dale

RES/351

March 10, 2015
Kenya Crocken-Leonard

The Pharmaceutical Industry and Unethical Research

The pharmaceutical drug companies have a tendency to focus more on the sales and revenue than the research of any given product. This trend leads to misrepresentation of crucial scientific research on products. An article in The New York Times from December, 2005 reported scientific research fraud to be a growing issue impinging upon drug development.

It appears that drug companies have interchanged the quest of treating and healing sickness and disease with the sole purpose of making money. Not only do the drug companies practice unethical research studies, but they also spend more money pushing the products then they do for the research of the drug. Two such companies have been accused, trialed and charged for smudging results and falsifying findings for lucrative benefits.

Merck and Co. was accused of several unethical acts. Merck & Co. marketed a drug called Vioxx. The drug was said to have less gastrointestinal problems than its counterpart competition – naproxen. However, Vioxx had considerably more side effects including; heart attacks and strokes (Vershoor,C.C., 2006). The drugs were pulled from the market in September, 2004, but not before over 100 million prescriptions were filled. Merck & Co. (Gardinar, H. 2009). Was also accused of misrepresentation or concealing of study results to doctors. The New England Journal of Medicine reported that previous studies of three patients had been withheld. In these three particular studies the patients all suffered heart attacks when taking Vioxx. Sales reps for Merck & Co. were trained to use subliminal selling tactics. Additionally, Merck & Co. only chose