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{{Infobox fix the debt
|company_name                   = Merck
|ceo_name                       = Kenneth Frazier
|ceo_salary                     = $13,347,652
|ceo_retirement_assets          = $14,428,904
|underfunded_company_pension    = -$1,935,000,000
|total_company_revenue          = $48,047,000,000
|tax_dodger                     = 11.5%
|territorial_tax_break_savings  = $15,505,000,000
|total_lobbying                 = $32,397,510
|ceo_campaign_giving            = 
}}
'''Merck''' is an international [[pharmaceutical]] company and publishes the industry standard Merck Drug Guide.  Top competitors include  [[Bristol-Myers Squibb]], [[Pfizer]], and [[Sanofi-Aventis]].  Top brand name [[pharmaceuticals]] include Singulair (asthma), Cozaar and Hyzaar (hypertension) and Vytorin, Zetia and Zocor (cholesteral).  Merck also manufactures Januvia (type 2 diabetes), Fosamax (osteoporosis), Cosopt and Trusopt (eye disease).  The company manufactures childhood and adult vaccines for measles, mumps, hepatitis, and shingles.<ref>[http://www.hoovers.com/merck/--ID__10986--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml Company Description: Merck], ''Hoovers'', accessed December 2009</ref>  

In the fiscal year ending in December of 2011, Merck reported global sales of approximately $48 billion<ref>[http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/financials/financials.asp?ticker=MRK Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK:New York): Financials], ''Bloomberg BusinessWeek'', online corporate profile, accessed September 13, 2012</ref> and had 86,000 employees<ref>[http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=MRK Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK:New York): Snapshot], ''Bloomberg BusinessWeek'', online corporate profile, accessed September 13, 2012</ref> (down from 100,000 employees in 2009, when it had $27.43 billion in sales).<ref>[http://www.hoovers.com/company/Merck__Co_Inc/rrytji-1-1njea5.html Key Merck & Co., Inc. Financials], ''Hoovers'', accessed December 2010</ref>

Access Merck's corporate rap sheet compiled and written by ''Good Jobs First'' [http://www.corp-research.org/merck here].

__TOC__

==Ties to Pete Peterson's "Fix the Debt"==

The [[Portal:Fix the Debt|Campaign to Fix the Debt]] is the latest incarnation of a decades-long effort by former Nixon man turned Wall Street billionaire [[Pete Peterson]] to slash earned benefit programs such as [[Social Security]] and [[Medicare]] under the guise of fixing the nation's "debt problem." {{PAGENAME}} is part of the Campaign to Fix the Debt as of February 2013.

This article is part of the Center for Media and Democracy's investigation of Pete Peterson's Campaign to "Fix the Debt." '''Please visit our main SourceWatch page on [[Portal:Fix the Debt|Fix the Debt]].'''

{{about_FTD}}
==Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council==

Merck was a "Trustee" level sponsor of 2011 [[American Legislative Exchange Council]] Annual Conference, which in 2010, equated to $5,000.<ref>American Legislative Exchange Council, 2011 Conference Sponsors, conference brochure on file with CMD, August 11, 2011</ref> In September 2012, it announced that would not renew its ALEC membership after 2012.<ref>Salvador Rizzo, [http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/09/merck_co_to_leave_alec.html Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. to leave ALEC], ''New Jersey Star-Ledger'', September 13, 2012</ref> See [[ALEC Corporations]] for a list of for-profit corporations with ties to ALEC, current or past, and [[Corporations Which Have Cut Ties to ALEC]] for a list of those corporations that have publicly cut funding to ALEC.

{{about_ALEC}}
==Acquisition of Schering-Plough==

[[Schering-Plough]] was a global [[pharmaceutical]] company based in New Jersey, United States. It manufactured prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, animal health products, and personal care products. Well known brand names included the allergy medications Clarinex and Nasonex.  The firm also specialized in anti-inflammatory, infectious disease, cancer, cardiovascular and women's health drugs. Schering-Plough's OTC products included Claritin allergy pills, Afrin nasal sprays, Dr. Scholl's foot care products and the Coppertone sun care line. Its products were marketed in some 140 countries.<ref>[http://www.hoovers.com/schering-plough/--ID__11326--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml Company Description: Schering-Plough], ''Hoovers'', accessed December 2009</ref>

In 2009, Merck agreed to acquire Schering-Plough for $41 billion. <ref>[http://www.hoovers.com/merck/--ID__10986--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml Company Description: Merck], ''Hoovers'', accessed December 2009</ref>
  
==Vioxx (subsection)==

See also [[Vioxx]].

==Other drug issues==

{{Template:Violation_Tracker}}
===Vytorin===
Merck and Schering-Plough, which co-marketed the cholesterol drug Vytorin, went into [[crisis management|damage-control]] mode taking out newspaper ads, reported ''Advertising Age'' in January 2008.  The pharmaceutical companies' [[public relations]] campaign followed their reluctant publication of a study which revealed that neither drug in present in Vytorin reduced fatty plaque build-up in arteries.  The study was completed in 2006, but Merck and Schering did not release it for 21 months, allegedly due to "complexity of the data and their own scientific concerns." 

The drug companies' newspaper ads, which ran in the [[New York Times]] and USA Today, referred to the damning study as "a single study that has generated a lot of confusion."  They stressed that the drugs "have been proven to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol."  However, the study showed was that Vytorin was not "any better than generic Zocor in reducing the buildup of fatty plaque." Members of Congress called for an investigation into why the "massive [[Direct-to-consumer advertising|advertisement campaign]] for Vytorin was allowed to continue," after the study was belatedly made public. Class-action lawsuits were file, alleging that Merck and Schering-Plough "misrepresented and withheld significant information" from the [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) and the public. <ref>[https://www.prwatch.org/node/6919 Once Again, Drug Companies Caught Data Doping], PR Watch, (Source: Advertising Age, January 22, 2008)</ref> In July 2008, a major European study of over 1,800 patients and researchers at 173 hospitals and other sites found that Vytorin:

:"was no better than placebo at lowering the risk of major cardiovascular events -- including heart attack, stroke, heart surgery and death -- in patients with aortic stenosis." Vytorin "did cut cholesterol levels about 60 percent," but that effect was previously known and is also seen when Zocor (one of two drugs that comprise Vytorin) is taken alone. The European study also observed an increase in cancer cases and deaths among patients taking Vytorin, but researchers said this was not likely due to the drug. <ref>Linda A. Johnson [http://www.mail.com/Article.aspx/money/business/APNews/General-Business/20080721/U_Merck-Schering-Vytorin?pageid=1 Schering-Plough, Merck's Vytorin misses study goal], [[Associated Press]], July 21, 2008.</ref>

===Mercury levels and Thimerosol vaccines===

In early 2005, the [[Los Angeles Times]] obtained a memo from Merck revealing that, prior to the first public disclosure, senior executives were concerned about mercury levels in vaccinations containing a widely used sterilizing agent.  The March of 1991 memo revealed concerns about 6-month-old children getting a mercury dose as much as 87 times higher than guidelines for the maximum daily consumption of mercury from fish.  According to Dr. Maurice R. Hilleman in a memo to the president of Merck's vaccine division:

:"When viewed in this way, the mercury load appears rather large." 

The memo was prepared as U.S. health authorities aggressively expanded their immunization schedule by adding five new shots for children in their first six months.  Many of these shots, as well as some previously included on the schedule, contained thimerosal, an anti-bacterial compound that is nearly 50% ethyl mercury, a neurotoxin.  In 1999, federal health officials disclosed that many infants were being exposed to dangerously high mercury levels, following a review by the [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA).  However, the memo revealed that Merck was aware of the concern much earlier. 

As of February of 2005, over 4,200 claims have been filed in a special federal tribunal, the ''Vaccine Injury Compensation Program'', by parents asserting that their children suffered autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders from mercury poisoning.  Thimerosal has been largely removed from pediatric vaccines as a "precautionary measure." <ref>Myron Levin [http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-02-08/news/17358356_1_mercury-above-health-guidelines-guidelines-through-routine-vaccinations-merck-and-other-vaccine Vaccine maker's '91 memo suggests mercury-level risk], [[Los Angeles Times]], February 08, 2005</ref>

===Gardasil===
During 2006, five products received FDA approval, including [[Gardasil]]:

:“The first vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer and genital warts caused by certain kinds of human papillomavirus.”  Gardasil later became a subject of controversy when Gov. Rick Perry of Texas signed an executive order that required all girls entering the 6th grade to receive this vaccination, starting in September 2008. <ref>Ralph Blumenthal [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9407E2DB123FF930A35751C0A9619C8B63 Texas is First to Require Cancer Shots for Schoolgirls], [[New York Times]], February 3, 2007</ref>

See also [[Gardasil]].

==Clinical trials==

==Tobacco issues==

Merck was an early supporter of smoke-free workplaces. In 1988, Merck launched a corporate policy prohibiting smoking in all of their workplaces and that paid the full costs of approved smoking cessation classes for workers and their spouses.  The policy covered over 29,000 U.S. workers.  Merck CEO Roy Vagelos, M.D. stated before a Congressional hearing on March 17, 1994 that during the first eighteen months of their policy, the number of Merck employees who smoked fell by 25 percent. <ref>[http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/sep16e00 Testimony of P. Roy Vagelos, MD, Chairman and CEO, Merck & Co, before the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment Committee on Energy and Commerce: 940317], Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, March 1994</ref> 

On April 4, 1993, [[William Ian Campbell]], CEO of [[Philip Morris]], wrote to Merck about Merck's nonsmoking workplace policy.  Campbell explained why he believed the [[EPA]]'s rating [[Secondhand smoke|secondhand tobacco smoke]] a human carcinogen was flawed, and suggested a meeting to discuss "cost-effective ways to protect and respect the rights of all employees by accommodating non-smokers and smokers at Merck."  In his letter, Campbell further cited the "arbitrary and damaging manner in which certain industries are made scapegoats."  He suggested that PM and Merck could possibly become allies.  Noel M. Howard, Director of Executive Communications at Merck wrote back to Campbell on May 14, 1995 and declined the meeting:

:"Given our strong corporate commitment to a smoke-free workplace, and in light of Philip Morris' understandable interest in promoting the tobacco use, we do not believe that a meeting between representatives of our two companies would be productive." <ref>[http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/yko24e00 Letter from N.M. Howard to W.I. Campbell], Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, May 1993</ref>

===Bone Measurement Institute===
The [[Bone Measurement Institute]] is a [[front group]] formed by big drug maker [[Merck]] to help expand the market for its drug Fosamax.  See also [[Bone Measurement Institute]].

==Personnel==
===Board (2020) <ref>Marck [https://www.merck.com/about/leadership/board-of-directors/home.html Board], organizational web page, accessed April 5, 2020.</ref>===

*[[Kenneth C. Frazier]]
*[[Leslie A. Brun]]
*[[Thomas R. Cech]]
*[[Mary Ellen Coe]]
*[[Pamela J. Craig]]
*[[Thomas H. Glocer]]
*[[Rochelle B. Lazarus]]
*[[Paul B. Rothman]]
*[[Patricia F. Russo]]
*[[Christine E. Seidman]]
*[[Inge G. Thulin]]
*[[Kathy J. Warden]]
*[[Wendell P. Weeks]]
*[[Peter C. Wendell]]

===Executive Management (2013)===
As of February 2013:<ref>Merck, [http://www.merck.com/about/leadership/executive-committee/home.html "Executive Committee"], organizational website, accessed February 2013</ref>
* [[Kenneth C. Frazier]] - President & CEO
* Willie A. Deese - Executive VP & President, Manufacturing
* Richard R. DeLuca Jr. -  Executive VP & President, Merck Animal Health
* Cuong Viet Do - Executive VP & Chief Strategy Officer
* Clark Golestani, Executive VP & Chief Information Officer
* [[Mirian M. Graddick-Weir]] - Executive VP, Human Resources
* Bridgette P. Heller - Executive VP & President, Consumer Care
*Michael J. Holston - Executive VP & Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer
* Peter N. Kellogg - Executive VP & CFO
* Peter S. Kim, Ph.D. - Executive VP & President, Merck Research Laboratories
* Bruce N. Kuhlik - Executive VP & General Counsel
* Michael Rosenblatt - Executive VP & Chief Medical Officer 	
* Adam H. Schechter - President, Global Human Health

'''Former executives include''':<ref>[http://www.merck.com/about/leadership/board-of-directors/home.html Executive Division]Merck, accessed January 2011</ref>
*Richard S. Bowles III, Ph.D. - former Executive VP & Chief Compliance Officer 
*[[Raymond V. Gilmartin]], former CEO (total pay of $37.8 million in 2005)<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/static/pvp2005/LIRE1B2.html Raymond V Gilmartin], ''Forbes'', accessed November 2007.</ref>
* Raul E. Kohan - former Executive VP & President, Animal Health
* J. Chris Scalet - former Executive VP, Global Services & Chief Information Officer
* Mervyn Turner, Ph.D. - Chief Strategy Officer & Senior VP, Emerging Markets R&D

'''Key executives and 2010 salaries''': <ref>[http://www.hoovers.com/company/Merck__Co_Inc/rrytji-1-1njea1.html Merck & Co., Inc. Executives], Hoovers, accessed January 2011</ref>
* Richard Clark (64), Chairman - $1,800,000 
* Kenneth Frazier (55), CEO - 1,044,688  
* Peter Kellegg (54), Executive VP & CFO - $903,978

===Board members===
* Leslie A. Brun - Chairman & CEO, Sarr Group, LLC
* Thomas R. Cech, Ph.D. - Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Colorado
* Kenneth C. Frazier - Chairman, President & CEO, Merck; Director, [[Exxon Mobil]]
* [[Thomas H. Glocer]] - retired CEO, [[Reuters|Thomas Reuters Corporation]]
* [[William B. Harrison, Jr.]] - Lead Board Director, Merck; retired Chairman, [[JP Morgan Chase]] & Co.
* [[C. Robert Kidder]] - Director, [[Morgan Stanley]]
* [[Rochelle B. Lazarus]] - Chairman, [[Ogilvy & Mather]]; Director, [[General Electric]]
* [[Carlos E. Represas]] - retired Chairman, [[Nestle]] Group Mexico
* [[Patricia F. Russo]] - Lead Director, [[General Motors]]; Director, [[Alcoa]], Inc.; Director, [[Hewlett-Packard Company]]
* [[Craig B. Thompson, M.D.]] - President & CEO, [[Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center]]
* Wendell P. Weeks - Director, Corning, Inc.
* Peter C. Wendell - Managing Director, Sierra Ventures

'''Former board members include''':<ref>[http://www.merck.com/about/leadership/board-of-directors/home.html Board of Directors], Merck, accessed January 2011</ref>
* Richard T. Clark - former chairman of the board
* Steven F. Goldstone - retired CEO, Nabisco; non-executive chairman, ConAgra Foods, Inc. 
* Harry R. Jacobson, M.D. - Vice Chancellor Emeritus, Health Affairs, Vanderbilt University
* William N. Kelley, M.D. - Professor, University of Pennsylvania Medical School 
* [[Thomas E. Shenk]], Ph.D.
* [[Anne M. Tatlock]] - Director, Fortune Brands, Inc.

==Political contributions==

Merck gave $$1,497,944 to federal candidates in the 2008 election cycle through its [[political action committee]] (PAC); 51% to [[Democrats]] and 49% to [[Republican Party (USA)|Republicans]]. <ref>[http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00097485&cycle=2008 2008 PAC Summary Data], ''Open Secrets'', accessed March 2010</ref>

==Public relations & lobbying==

The company spent $$6,410,000 for [[lobbying]] in 2009. Of this total, $1,530,000 was to 12 outside [[lobbying firms]] with the remainder being spent using in-house lobbyists. <ref>[http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?lname=Merck+%26+Co&year=2009 Merck & Co lobbying expenses], ''Open Secrets'', accessed March 2010</ref>


==Contact==

Merck<br>
One Merck Drive<br>
Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889<br>

Phone: 908-423-1000<br>

Fax: 908-735-1253<br>

Web address: http://www.merck.com

==Articles & sources==

===SourceWatch articles===
* [[AIDS industry]]
* [[Animal testing]]
* [[Australian class action against Merck over Vioxx safety risks]]
* [[Carlos E. Represas]]
* [[Crisis management]]
* [[Direct-to-consumer advertising]] 
* [[Food and Drug Administration]]
* [[Gardasil]]
* [[Humane Movement]]
* [[Huntingdon Life Sciences]]
* [[Medical paper ghostwriting]]
* [[Merck/stats, details]]
* [[National Primate Research Center System]]
* [[Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide]]
* [[Pharmaceutical industry]]
* [[Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center]]
* [[Using celebrities]]
* [[Vioxx]]
* [[War on Cancer]]
* [[Women in Government]]
*[[Merck Family Fund]]
*[[Robert M. Davis]]
*[[Yehong Zhang]] - former China president
*[[Roy Vagelos]] - former CEO

===Featured SourceWatch Articles on Fix the Debt===

* [[Portal:Fix the Debt|Fix the Debt Portal Page]]
** [[Fix the Debt's Leadership]]
** [[Fix the Debt's Partner Groups]]
** [[Fix the Debt's State Chapters]]
** [[Fix the Debt's Lobbyists]]
** [[Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget|Fix the Debt's Parent Group]]
** [https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Fix_the_Debt_Corporations Fix the Debt's Corporations]
** [[Pete Peterson]]
** [[Peter G. Peterson Foundation]]
** [[America Speaks]]
** [[Simpson-Bowles Commission]]
** [[Erskine Bowles]]
** [[Alan Simpson]]
** [[Social Security]]
** [[Medicare]]
** [[Medicaid]]
*[[Dawn Graham]]

===References===
{{reflist|2}}

===External articles===
* Maria Cheng, "[http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jw5koMZRgn4J9AHveS6GkQyblt_gD92UM00G0 Doctors say Vytorin-cancer link can't be ruled out]," [[Associated Press]], September 2, 2008
* Alex Berenson "[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/business/02vytorin.html For Widely Used Drug, Question of Usefulness Is Still Lingering]," [[New York Times]], September 1, 2008
* Judith Siers-Poisson, [https://www.prwatch.org/node/6216 The Politics and PR of Cervical Cancer], a four part series, PR Watch.org, July, 2007.
* Reed Abelson and Stephanis Saul, "[http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/17/business/17clinic.html Ties to Industry Cloud a Clinic's Mission]", New York Times, December 17, 2005. 
* Darren Rovell, "[http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=1927023&type=story The burden of pitching pills]", ESPN.com, November 19, 2004.
* Alex Berenson, "[http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/19/business/19vioxx.html?pagewanted=all Some Pointed Questioning at the Vioxx Trial in Texas]", New York Times, July 19, 2005
* [http://www.stopanimaltests.com/f_ten_worst_ceo.asp PETA Names the 10 Worst CEOs for Animals in Laboratories], [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]], accessed December 2009 

===External resources===
* [http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/2008/09/21/merck-staph-vaccine-enters-phase-ii/ Merck staph vaccine enters phase II], Insidevaccines.com Sept 2008
    
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