This is one for those too young to remember, those who think companies have our best interests in mind and especially for those too disingenuous to care.

Let’s have a little lesson from recent history.

Remember Vioxx?

I do.

Vioxx was an analgesic widely touted as a miracle for arthritic issues.

Turns out Merck knew that it was potentially lethal yet it put it out on the market anyway.

Read that again.

Merck knew Vioxx was deadly and it still marketed it to people.

You see, Merck had already figured out that the profits made from selling Vioxx would be far greater than the money they would pay out on any lawsuits they encountered.

They didn’t give a damn whether it killed people or not.

Vioxx swiftly became one of Merck’s bestsellers, generating over $2 billion in yearly revenue. Twenty-five million Americans were eventually prescribed Vioxx as an aspirin-substitute thought to produce fewer complications.

As it turned out, Vioxx greatly increased the risk of fatal heart attacks and strokes and had probably been responsible for at least 55,000 American deaths during the five years it had been on the market.

Despite evidence of deliberate corporate conspiracy, Merck’s long-time CEO simply resigned and was replaced by one of his top lieutenants.

But he retained the $50 million in financial compensation he had received over the previous five years.

Yup, kept all the money, cool as a cucumber.

Neither he nor any other Merck executives was charged with corporate malfeasance.

Profits before people’s lives.

Who believes that has changed?

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