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Official Denies Vioxx 'Dodge'

Posted on: Tuesday, 19 July 2005, 15:00 CDT

ANGLETON, Texas - Merck & Co., the third-largest U.S. drugmaker, did not train its sales force to dodge questions about the safety of its Vioxx drug, a company official testified in the first trial over the now-withdrawn painkiller.

Nancy Santanello, one of Merck's senior scientists, sought to deflect claims by the family of a Texas man who died in 2001 after taking the drug that the company used a training program called "Dodgeball" to help salespeople overcome concerns about the risk of heart attacks and strokes tied to Vioxx. Testimony in the family's suit began Monday.

"It's a game to teach the sales representatives about how to answer questions from physicians," Santanello told jurors in state court in Angleton, Texas. "It's not about dodging questions."

The allegations over Merck's marketing techniques are part of an effort by lawyers for the family of Robert Ernst to show that the company knew Vioxx posed a risk to some users and sought to avoid or downplay safety concerns. Merck pulled Vioxx off the market in September after research linked it to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Merck, which is based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., has set aside $675 million to defend itself in what some analysts predict could be more than 100,000 Vioxx suits. The company's market value has plunged by $32 billion since Vioxx was withdrawn. The drug generated $2.5 billion in sales last year.

Merck contends that Vioxx didn't cause Ernst's irregular heartbeat. Ernst, 59, was a marathon runner who took the drug to treat tendinitis.

Mark Lanier, the Ernst family's lawyer, asked Santanello if she thought it was Merck's responsibility to tell "the public the truth" about the safety risks Vioxx posed.

"It's important that Merck provide information on the safety and accuracy of its products," said Santanello, who was part of the company committee that recommended yanking the drug off the market. "All the risks should be provided."

Lanier presented an internal Merck memo on the outline of the Dodgeball training program, which he said encouraged salespeople to deflect questions about the drug's safety.

"You never had to answer the question if you dodge it [in the game]," Lanier said.

"You cannot win by getting all dodge cards," Santanello replied. "I don't think it had anything to do with dodging questions."

Source: Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.

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