Executive Summary

Merck is one of the largest pharmaceutical Companies in the world. It is based in United States of America having its headquarters in Kenilworth New Jersey. Kenneth C. Frazier is the current CEO and the company has employees all over the world which is around 69,000 people.  The company manufactures very common and well known drugs, animal health products and vaccines. It is very well known for being the first one to make the vaccine for smallpox in the United States. It is also commonly known for the painkiller Vioxx. The company operates in four segments namely;

• Pharmaceutical; which includes the human health products and vaccine products.
• Animal Health; which comprises of manufacturing, marketing, discovery and development of animal health products which also includes animal vaccines.
• Healthcare services; this segment offers services and medical solutions which focuses on health analysis, clinical services and engagement.
• Alliances; which includes its widespread role and acquisitions and joint ventures with other pharmaceutical industry sector players.

The company has been very much successful but also it has never missed its share on legal suits and other scandals and controversies in the health industry.

Lawsuits involved in by the company;

1. Propecia Lawsuits

When the company changed the label of propecia of possible side effects of sexual side effects and cancer, many people came to the reality of the side effects and opened many lawsuits against the company. As of may 2018, there are over 900 lawsuits in court that have not been settled and still pending.

1. Januvia Lawsuits

Januvia is a product which is manufactured by the Merck Company. This product has been associated with severe joint pain and pancreatic cancer. According to these lawsuits, it is alleged that some users of this drug have died and some left with major side effects. The court dismissed the case in 2015 but later in 2018 the appeal court reinstated so many of the pancreatic cancer lawsuits which are still pending in the courts and no settlement has been done whatsoever. 

History of Merck

The company had its origins in Darmstadt Germany in the year 1668 by a man called Friedrich Jacob Merck who opened a pharmaceutical company and called this company Angel Pharmacy which sold three products namely codeine, cocaine and morphine.

In the year 1827, the company changed its course of business after the company became a manufacturer and changed to its new name E. Merck by Heinrick Emmanuel Merck.

In 1887, E. Merck opened its new office in the US and four years later in 1891, Merck co. was opened as a branch. This was headed by George Merck who was Heinrick’s grandson. This branch grew big and established a manufacturing plant in New Jersey in the year 1902.

In 1917, the US government took over the company and set it as an independent company and this was after World War 2. Its association with the original Germany Company ceased and the Germany Company up to now is called Merck KGaA and there is no affiliation whatsoever between these two companies.

Subsidiaries of Merck

The company has spread all over the world and has so many subsidiaries and branches worldwide dealing with the company’s four segments. The subsidiaries include the following.

1. Idenix Pharmaceuticals

This is a pharmaceutical company that was founded by Jean-Pierre Sommadossi in 1998. This company was acquired in June 2014 by Merck co. for a cost of $3.85 billion. Its headquarters are located at Cambridge Massachusetts, United States.

The company is mostly engaged in the discovery and development of drugs which will be used in the treatment of human viral diseases in France and the United States. Its primary and main focus is in the treatment of Hepatitis C virus (HCV).

1. Cubist Pharmaceuticals

Cubic pharmaceuticals is one of the biggest subsidiary companies of Merck Co. The company was found in 1992 by John Clarke. Its headquarters are in Lexington Massachusetts United States. The company was acquired by Merck in the year 2014 December at a cost of $8.40 billion.

The company majorly focuses on research and development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products which addresses mainly on the acute care environment medical needs.

1. Antelliq Group

In December 2018, Merck acquired Antelliq group at a cost of 3.25 billion Euros which was to be shared as 2.1 billion Euros for the acquiring of all outstanding shares and 1.15 billion Euros for the payment antelliq’s debts.

Antelliq deals mostly with animal health and focuses in digital animal identification, monitoring and traceability solutions. 

This acquisition saw Merck become a leader in animal health portfolio of pharmaceuticals and vaccines.

1. Afferent Pharmaceuticals

Afferent pharmaceutical was established in 2009 and it is a biopharmaceutical company that deals with development of medicines which treats chronic and acute pain.

The company was acquired in June 2016 by Merck at a cost of $1.25 billion. This deal saw Merck pay $500 million cash upfront for all the stock of afferent and the remaining sum of $750 million will go to the shareholders.

The company offers programs in the areas of respiratory diseases, hypertension, cardiovascular and chronic pain

The company has its headquarters in San Mateo California United States.

1. Sirna Therapeutics

This company was founded in 1992 and it has its headquarters in San Francisco California United States. The company was acquired by Merck in 2006 at a cost of $1.1 billion.

It is a biotechnology company which majorly explores the use of RNA interference in the human disease therapy.

Popular Products of Merck

There are many popular products which range from pharmaceuticals to vaccines. They include the following;

1. Propecia

This is a drug for men’s prescription which is used to treat the male hair pattern loss. It is a one day pill treatment. 

1. Recombivax HB

This is a product under the vaccine category which is used for the vaccination of Hepatitis B. 

1. Keytruda

This is a monoclonal antibody which is used to treat unresectable melanoma and disease progression. It is used to treat certain type of cancers.

1. Singulair

This is the medication that people normally use to treat and prevent asthma and allergy symptoms to people of 12 years and above. It is taken once a day and in the evening.

1. Zostavax

This is a live attenuated vaccine for life vaccination of in prevention of herpes zostar in individuals 50 years of age and older.

1. MMR (Measles Mumps Rubella)

This is a vaccine which is used to prevent mumps and measles to children.

1. Rotateq

A product of the Merck Company under the vaccines which is used to prevent certain virus infection which causes high fever, vomiting and diarrhea in children. It is given in the first 6 to 12 weeks.

1. Zocor

This is a drug statin that lowers the lipids and cholesterol levels. It is normally used in conjunction with lifestyle changes such as low fat, exercises and low cholesterol.

Product Recalls and Lawsuits

1. Vioxx Recall in 2004

Vioxx is the company’s well known pain reliever. The drug was highly linked with causing cardiovascular problems or diseases like stroke and heart attack when being used. Although Merck denied the allegations from the first instance, but later after a clinical trial, the company decided to pull the drug out the market and make a recall in September 2004. This drug was mostly sold in the US and mostly affected the US citizens.

1. Gardasil HPV Vaccine Recall

On December 2016, Merck implemented a voluntary recall of one lot of Gardasil (Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent – type 6, 11, 16 and 18 Vaccine Recombinant). This was because it was established that there were small pieces of glass particles contained in the very small vials of the vaccine. The glass particles came about as a result of breakages during the manufacturing process. 

The vials that were in question were the one which were manufactured between August 20th 2013 and October 9th 2013. The other lots manufactured before this dates or after this dates were okay and were not affected by this recall. There have been so many claims about the vaccine prior to the recall and after the recall. The court awarded some 49 victims $6 million in April 2010 and over 200 lawsuits are still pending for this particular vaccine.

Litigation Settlements

1. $100 NuvaRing Settlement Litigation

Nuvaring is manufactured by Organon which is a subsidiary of Merck. This is a birth control ring which is majorly associated with blood clots that is life threatening. It had so many side effects and due to this, the FDA in 2011 issued drug safety communication and NuvaRing was found to breach a number of them and many people who were affected sued the company for the damages. The lawsuits were heard and determined and the company in 2014 settled all of them to a tune of $100 million and the issue was cleared and settled.

1. $7 Billion Vioxx Settlement Litigation

Vioxx a pain reliever was largely associated with heart attack and stroke which are cardiovascular diseases and the company did not react to it. Thousands of affected patients opened so many lawsuits against the company for the side effects of the use of Vioxx. The company was in constant denial but after doing its own clinical test called APPROVe, the truth in it was found and eventually settled all the people involved of about $7 billion. 

They claimed the drug caused 3400 deaths and this settlement ended over the 47,000 people and 265 potential class cases that were opened against the company for this drug’s side effects. The class settlement was $830 million with $232 million as fees and litigation expenses.

Sources:

https://www.fiercepharma.com/regulatory/merck-reaches-830m-settlement-long-running-vioxx-litigation

https://www.drugwatch.com/manufacturers/merck/

https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/company-profile/MRK

https://www.merckvioxxsecuritieslitigation.com/

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/31/us-court-pays-6-million-gardasil-victims/

https://craft.co/merck-&-co

https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=32271

https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/cubist-pharmaceuticals#section-overview