"Putting patients first": Systematically distorted communication and Merck's marketing of Vioxx

Journal of Applied Communication Research

Volumn 35, Issue 4, 2007, Pages 376-398

  Lyon, Alexander ^a,b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO   (United States)

^b STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK   (United States)

Author keywords

Merck; Significant choice; Social responsibility; Systematically distorted communication; Vioxx

Indexed keywords

EID: 35148812930     PISSN: 00909882     EISSN: 14795752     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/00909880701611052     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. Berenson, A. (2005, April 24). Evidence in Vioxx suits shows intervention by Merck officials. New York Times, Late Edition, p. 1. Retrieved June 13, 2005, from LexisNexis database.
2. Bombardier, C., Laine, L., Recin, A., Shapiro, D., Burgos-Vargas, R., Davis, B., et al. (2000). Comparison of upper gastrointestinal toxicity of rofecoxib and naproxen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. New England Journal of Medicine, 343, 1520-1528.
3. Buber, M. (1958). I and thou (2nd ed., R. G. Smith, Trans.). New York: Scribner's.
4. Cheney, G. (1995). Democracy in the workplace: Theory and practice from the perspective of communication. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 23, 167-200.
5. Cheney, G. (2004). Bringing ethics in from the margins. Australian Journal of Communication, 31, 35-40.
6. Curfman, G. D., Morrissey, S., & Drazen, J. M. (2005). Expression of concern: Bombardier et al., "Comparison of upper gastrointestinal toxicity of rofecoxib and naproxen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis," New Engl J Med 2000; 343:1520-8. New England Journal of Medicine, 353, 2813-2814.
7. Curfman, G. D., Morrissey, S., & Drazen, J. M. (2006). Expression of concern reaffirmed. New England Journal of Medicine, 354, 1193.
8. Dawkins, J. (2004). Corporate responsibility: The communication challenge. Journal of Communication Management, 9, 108-119.
9. Deetz, S. (1990). Reclaiming the subject matter as a guide to mutual understanding: Effectiveness and ethics in interpersonal interaction. Communication Quarterly, 38, 226-243.
10. Deetz, S. (1992). Democracy in an age of corporate colonization: Developments in communication and the politics of everyday life. Albany: State University of New York Press.
11. Deetz, S. (1995). Transforming communication, transforming business: Building responsive and responsible workplaces. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
12. Deetz, S. (2003). Corporate governance, communication, and getting social values into the decisional chain. Management Communication Quarterly, 16, 606-611.
13. Eisenberg, E. (1984). Ambiguity as strategy in organizational communication. Communication Monographs, 51, 227-242.
14. Elliott, J. (2003). Ethics for management. Management Communication Quarterly, 17, 136-142.
15. Ethics: Medical whistleblowers speak out. (2005, June 21). Life Science Weekly, p. 736. Retrieved December 12, 2005, from LexisNexis database.
16. Food and Drug Administration. (2001, February 8). FDA advisory committee briefing document: NDA 21-042, s007: VIOXX gastrointestinal safety. Retrieved April 11, 2006, from http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/ 01/briefing/3677b2_03_med.pdf
17. Gilmartin, R. (1999). Code of conduct [Booklet]. Retrieved October 31, 2005, from http://www.merck.com/about/conduct.html
18. Gilmartin, R. V. (2004, November 12). For 100 years, patients first. Retrieved September 15, 2005, from http://www.merck.com/newsroom/ vioxx_withdrawal
19. Hawthorne, F. (2003). The Merck druggernaut: The inside story of a pharmaceutical giant. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
20. Heath, B. (1990). Effects of internal rhetoric on management response to external issues: How corporate culture failed the asbestos industry. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 18, 153-167.
21. Irons, L. R. (1998). Organizational and technical communication: Terminological ambiguity in representing work. Management Communication Quarterly, 12, 24-71.
22. Jerman, J. (2001, April 27). MVX for VIOXX®: Project A & A XXceleration [Voice mail]. Retrieved September 12, 2005, from http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/features/vioxx/documents.asp
23. Johnson, C. E., Sellnow, T. L., Seeger, M. W., Barrett, M. S., & Hasbargen, K. C. (2004). Blowing the whistle on Fen-phen: An exploration of MeritCare's reporting of linkages between Fen-phen and valvular heart disease. Journal of Business Communication, 41, 350-369.
24. Kim, P. (2005, February 17). Statement issued at the FDA Advisory Committee Meeting. Retrieved September 15, 2005, from http://www.merck.com/ newsroom/vioxx_withdrawal/02182005.html
25. Kinsella, W. J. (1999). Discourse, power, and knowledge in the management of "big science": The production of consensus in a nuclear fusion research laboratory. Management Communication Quarterly, 13, 171-208.
26. Kohn, M. M. (2004). Integrating responsibility communications at Merck: A strategy to coordinate messages to stakeholders. Strategic Communication Journal, 8(6), 30-33.
27. Kuhn, T. (1997). The discourse of issues management: A genre of organizational communication. Communication Quarterly, 45, 188-210.
28. Kuhn, T., & Ashcraft, K. L. (2003). Corporate scandal and the theory of the firm. Management Communication Quarterly, 17, 20-57.
29. Law, J. (2006). Big pharma: Exposing the global healthcare agenda. New York: Carroll & Graf.
30. Lisse, J. R., Perlman, M., Johansson, G., Shoemaker, J. R., Schechtman, J., Skalky, C. S., et al. (2003). Gastrointestinal tolerability and effectiveness of rofecoxib versus naproxen in the treatment of osteoarthritis: A randomized, controlled trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 139, 539-546.
31. Lyon, A. (2005). "Intellectual capital" and struggles over the perceived value of members' expert knowledge in a knowledge-intensive organization. Western Journal of Communication, 69, 251-271.
32. Martinez, B. (2004, October 5). Vioxx lawsuits may focus on FDA warning in 2001. Wall Street Journal, p. B1.
33. Mathews, A. W., & Martinez, B. (2004, November 1). E-mails suggest Merck knew Vioxx's dangers at early stage. Wall Street Journal, pp. A1, A10, A11.
34. Merck. (2000a, April 28). Bulletin for VIOXX®: New resource: Cardiovascular Card [Memo]. Retrieved September 12, 2005, from http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/features/vioxx/documents.asp
35. Merck. (2000b, July 28). MIT for Vioxx®: Offensive positioning for Vioxx® [Memo]. Retrieved September 12, 2005, from http://www.democrats. reform.house.gov/features/vioxx/documents.asp
36. Merck. (2000c). In response to your questions: Cardiovascular system: Clinical profile in osteoarthritis studies [Brochure]. Retrieved September 12, 2005, from http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/features/vioxx/documents. asp
37. Merck. (2001a, February 9). Bulletin for VIOXX®: FDA arthritis advisory committee meeting for VIOXX® [Memo]. Retrieved September 12, 2005, from http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/features/vioxx/documents.asp
38. Merck. (2001b, May 24). Bulletin for VIOXX®: Action required: Revised response to New York Times article [Memo]. Retrieved September 12, 2005, from http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/features/vioxx/ documents.asp
39. Merck. (2001c). Project offensive meeting agenda & content: Representative meeting [Memo]. Retrieved September 12, 2005, from http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/features/vioxx/documents.asp
40. Merck. (2003, September 17). Bulletin for VIOXX: Upcoming abstracts for VIOXX at the 2003 American College of Rheumatology meeting and obstacle response for observational analysis by Solomon et al. [Memo]. Retrieved September 12, 2005, from http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/features/vioxx/ documents.asp
41. Merck. (2004). Annual review. Retrieved September 12, 2005, from http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=73184&p=irol-reportsannual
42. Merck, (n.d.). Needs based selling [Training manual]. Retrieved September 12, 2005, from http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/features/vioxx/ documents.asp
43. Mitchell, M., Bush, G., & Khatchik, C. (2004). Building the business case for corporate responsibility: Communication strategies for corporate responsibility reporting. Strategic Communication Management, 8, 30-33.
44. Nilsen, T. R. (1974). Ethics of speech communication (2nd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill.
45. Petersen, M. (2001, May 22). Doubts are raised on the safety of 2 popular arthritis drugs. New York Times, p. C1.
46. Prakash, S. (2005a, June 9). Part 1: Documents suggest Merck tried to censor Vioxx critics. National Public Radio. Retrieved June 13, 2005, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyid=4696609
47. Prakash, S. (2005b, June 9). Part 2: Documents suggest Merck tried to censor Vioxx critics. National Public Radio. Retrieved June 13, 2005, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyid=4696711
48. Scolnick, E. M. (2005, March 21). Vioxx®: A scientific review. Retrieved September 15, 2005, from http://www.merck.com/newsroom/ vioxx_withdrawal/
49. Seeger, M. W. (2001). Ethics and communication in organizational contexts: Moving from the fringe to the center. American Communication Journal, 5, 1-10. Retrieved March 1, 2006, from http://www.acjournal.org/ holdings/vol5/issl/special/seeger.pdf
50. Seeger, M. W., & Ulmer, R. R. (2003). Explaining Enron: Communication and responsible leadership. Management Communication Quarterly, 17, 58-84.
51. Sellnow, T. L. (1993). Scientific argument in organizational crisis communication: The case of Exxon. Argumentation and Advocacy, 30, 28-42.
52. Sellnow, T. L., Seeger, M. W., & Ulmer, R. R. (2002). Chaos theory, information needs, and natural disaster. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 30, 269-292.
53. Senate Finance Committee Hearing. (2004, November 18). U.S. Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) holds hearing on FDA, Merck, and Vioxx: Putting patient safety first, part 1 [Electronic version]. Congressional Quarterly. Retrieved September 20, 2005, from LexisNexis database.
54. Smith, J. M. (2005, November). Institutionalizing philanthropy in the workplace: A critical examination of management's construction of giving. Paper presented at the National Communication Association annual convention, Boston, MA.
55. Thackaberry, J. (2004). Discursive opening and closing in organizational self-study: Culture as trap and tool in wildland firefighting safety. Management Communication Quarterly, 17, 319-359.
56. Trombetta, B. (2005, September 1). 2005 industry audit. Pharmaceutical Executive. Retrieved December 1, 2005, from http://www.pharmexec.com/ pharmexec/content/printcontentpopup.jsp?id=177964
57. Ulmer, R. R., & Sellnow, T. L. (1997). Strategic ambiguity and the ethic of significant choice in the tobacco industry's crisis communication. Communication Studies, 48, 215-233.
58. Ulmer, R. R., Sellnow, T. L., & Seeger, M. W (2007). Effective crisis communication: Moving from crisis from opportunity. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
59. Wander, P. C. (1976). The rhetoric of science. Western Speech Communication, 40, 226-235.
60. Waxman, H. A. (2005, May 5). The marketing of Vioxx to physicians [Memorandum]. Retrieved September 7, 2005, from http://www.democrats.reform. house.gov/documents/20050505114932-41272.pdf
61. Weick, K. (1988). Enacted sensemaking in crisis situations. Journal of Management Studies, 25, 305-317.
62. Weick, K. (1995). Sensemaking in organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
63. Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.