Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: Merck

Merck stories: 38 news summaries

21 - 38 of 38 Stories | << Prev 1 2

Switch to grid view »

Doc: Merck Fudged Minutes of Meeting

Vytorin probe challeges firm's account of delay in trial results

Apr 12, 08 9:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Merck's "minutes" of a meeting of heart doctors discussing cholesterol drug Vytorin were created a month after the meeting and distorted the viewpoints of the experts, one panel member changes. The drug company submitted the document to congressional investigators probing its two-year delay in releasing a report saying the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Merck • pharmaceutical companies • drug companies • cholesterol lowering drug • clinical trials • Vytorin • Schering-Plough

MARKETS

 Slow Day Sees Modest Losses 

Stocks end mostly lower after Bernanke testimony

Apr 2, 08 3:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - The markets slid into negative territory after Ben Bernanke's Congressional testimony on the state of the economy today, but trading was generally low-key. "Flat is good," an economist told the Wall Street Journal. "People are getting their nerve back." The Dow ended down 45.44 at... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Ben Bernanke • stock market • Merck • International Monetary Fund • IMF • Best Buy

Firms Hid Bad News on
Heart Drugs 2 Years: Doc

Merck and Schering-Plough delayed trial results on Vytorin, Zetia

Apr 1, 08 10:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - A scientist hired by two drug companies to conduct trials of cholesterol-lowering drugs accused the firms of deliberately delaying release of the results, the New York Times reports. The results for the Vytorin and Zetia trials—which showed the drugs don't work to reduce plaque in arteries—were not released... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Merck • drug companies • cholesterol • cholesterol lowering drug • clinical trials • Vytorin • Zetia • Schering-Plough

2 Top Cholesterol Drugs, Vytorin and Zetia, Don't Work

Cardiologists urge prescribing statins over Vytorin, Zetia

Mar 31, 08 3:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - Two top-selling cholesterol drugs  proved in a recent study to be largely ineffective in slowing the clogging of arteries, a panel of cardiologists said yesterday. Doctors should only prescribe Vytorin and Zetia if other medications don't work, and should rely instead on statins such as Lipitor and Zocor, they said.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cardiovascular disease • Merck • cholesterol • heart attack • cholesterol lowering drug • clinical trials • Vytorin • Zetia • American College of Cardiology • Schering-Plough

FDA Probes Suicide Link
to Asthma Drug

Merck adds new warnings on nervous system side effects

Mar 28, 08 7:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - The FDA has opened an investigation of anecdotal links between the popular asthma and allergy drug Singulair and suicidal thoughts. In the past year, manufacturer Merck has added warnings of several possible side effects of  the pill related to the nervous system, including anxiety, depression, tremors, and suicidal thinking. The... More »

MORE ABOUT:
suicide • FDA • Merck • allergy • asthma • Singulair

Merck Will Pay $650M to End Discount Probes

Drug company alleged to have kept Medicaid in dark on lowest prices

Feb 7, 08 3:59 PM CST
(Newser) - Drug company Merck will dish out $650 million to resolve lawsuits and probes into marketing schemes, the Wall Street Journal reports. Central to the investigations is the company’s “nominal pricing,” which slashed some drug prices by 90% for hospitals but hid the discounts from Medicaid, even though... More »

MORE ABOUT:
drugs • Merck • hospitals • pharmaceutical companies • Vioxx • lawsuit • probe • Zocor

FDA Mandates Suicide Risk Assessment in Drug Trials

Danger doesn't lie only in antidepressants

Jan 24, 08 11:42 AM CST
(Newser) - The Food and Drug Administration is now requiring drug companies to monitor suicide warning signs in clinical trials for experimental drugs, the New York Times reports. In the wake of studies showing that antidepressants might increase the risk of self-harm in children and teens, the agency is showing an awareness... More »

MORE ABOUT:
suicide • FDA • antidepressant • Merck • Sanofi Aventis • Eli Lilly • anti obesity drugs • clinical trials • experimental drugs

MARKETS

Dow Plummets 306.95 Points

Manufacturing, home starts news send markets way down

Jan 17, 08 3:42 PM CST
(Newser) - The Dow plunged 306.95 points to 12.159.21 today, its third straight sell-off and worst loss of the new year, as rough numbers put investors in a bearish mood. The key index has now fallen more than 1,000 points since 2008 began. Merrill Lynch posted a huge... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Ben Bernanke • Merck • Dow Jones • Nasdaq • manufacturing • AIG • housing starts • Ambac Financial • S&P 500

Generic Beats Pricey Pill on Cholesterol

Pharma stocks fall
after in-house study hails 3-cent drug

Jan 14, 08 5:42 PM CST
(Newser) - A cheap generic drug cuts arterial buildup as well as a pricey pill and may threaten the growth of two drug companies, Bloomberg reports. Vytorin is produced by Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. and costs $2.84 per dose; simvastin, a generic, costs 3 cents a pill and works... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Merck • cholesterol • heart attack • LDL • Vytorin • Zetia • Schering-Plough

Merck May Pay $700M
for Schizophrenia Drug

Pharma giant restocks pipeline by snapping up Swiss psychotherapy

Jan 3, 08 11:42 AM CST
(Newser) - Merck today finalized a deal worth as much as $700 million to license a schizophrenia drug from Swiss biotech firm Addex Pharmaceuticals. Addex will get $22 million up front, and qualify for another $680 million in milestone payments. Such licensing deals are growing commonplace, Reuters reports, as big pharma turns... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Merck • schizophrenia • pharmaceutical companies • biotechnology • psychotherapy

Merck Recalls 1M Doses
of Vaccine for Kids

Drug company finds contamination at its Pennsylvania factory

Dec 12, 07 7:14 PM CST
(Newser) - Merck is recalling almost a million doses of a childhood vaccine after it found evidence of contamination at one of its factories, the AP reports. The pharmaceutical giant says no children have been harmed after taking Hib, which prevents meningitis and pneumonia, but the company is recalling its 10 lots... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Merck • Vioxx • meningitis • vaccine • pneumonia • pharmaceutical industry • hepatitis B • hib

Big Pharma Faces Big Plunge

Profits will drop as patents expire, and chemical-based therapies are eclipsed by biotech

Dec 6, 07 4:50 AM CST
(Newser) - Patent protections on some of the pharmaceutical industry's best-selling drugs, like Lipitor, Plavix and Singulair, are due to expire in the next several years, and drug manufacturers have little in the pipeline to replace them. The drug companies will lose billions—as much as half their combined revenue—to generic... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Merck • pharmaceutical companies • GlaxoSmithKline • Pfizer • Eli Lilly • Zocor • Lipitor • Plavix • pharmaceutical industry • Zyprexa • Fosamax • Singulair • Cozaar • torcetrapib • drug manufacturer

Merck to Settle Suits for $4.85B

Deal will be official once 85% of plaintiffs agree

Nov 9, 07 5:19 AM CST
(Newser) - Merck has agreed to shell out $4.85 billion to settle 27,000 Vioxx lawsuits brought by plaintiffs who argued that the pain medication damaged health and caused deaths. The agreement, one of the largest in history, must still be approved by 85% of the plaintiffs, but it's likely to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Merck • drug safety • Vioxx • painkiller • settlement • civil lawsuits

Cold Virus Foiled AIDS Vaccine

Study subjects with immunity to common virus saw increased risk with vaccine

Nov 8, 07 1:08 PM CST
(Newser) - A promising AIDS vaccine that failed in trials—actually increasing rather than reducing risk of infection—turned out to be ineffective in people who had immunity to a common cold virus, developers reported yesterday. The Merck vaccine contained an altered version of that virus, and study subjects with existing immunities... More »

MORE ABOUT:
AIDS • Merck • HIV • AIDS vaccine

Experimental AIDS Vaccine May Increase HIV Risk

Hundreds of trial volunteers being notified in South Africa

Oct 25, 07 6:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - A once-promising AIDS vaccine being developed by Merck may actually increase the risk of contracting HIV, the Washington Post reports. In South Africa, 19 people who received the vaccine in a trial contracted the virus, as opposed to 11 who received a placebo. South  African researchers have begun warning hundreds... More »

MORE ABOUT:
AIDS • Merck • HIV

Merck News Gives Markets Shot in the Arm

Dow rises 92.34 on component's earnings, big oil merger

Jul 23, 07 4:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Stocks rallied across the board today, after a number of major buyouts and earnings reports diverted traders' attentions from the foundering subprime market and an enervated dollar once again. The Dow was up 2.34 to 13943.42 after drug-maker Merck, a major component of the index, reported its best... More »

MORE ABOUT:
stock market • Merck • pharmaceutical companies • Dow Jones • nasdaq • transocean • globalsantafe • S&P 500

Conservatives Wield FDA Data on HPV Vaccine

Cite health risks in opposing vaccination
of teenage girls

May 24, 07 3:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - A group of religious conservatives has marshalled unreleased FDA data as a weapon in the battle against  Gardasil, the new cervical cancer vaccine. The data indicates health problems in women taking the vaccine, but  drugmaker Merck and the FDA both insist that the negative effects are probably unrelated to the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • FDA • health • women's health • cancer vaccine • Merck • HPV • cervical cancer • Gardasil • women • vaccination • vaccine • teen health

Vaccine May
Not Prevent
Cervical Cancer

Mandated for all girls
in some states, HPV vaccine fails to deliver 

Apr 16, 07 8:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - Pharma behemoth Merck is defending what it touted as a miracle cervical-cancer vaccine against charges of ineffectiveness. Merck lobbied states to mandate Gardasil for young girls—Texas and Virginia did—and got a glowing endorsement from the CDC. But new studies show that it works only to prevent sexually-transmitted HPV,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • health • cancer vaccine • Merck • HPV • cervical cancer • Gardasil • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • pharmaceutical companies • pharma • vaccine • STD

21 - 38 of 38 Stories | << Prev 1 2


from our news partners