Merck once faced a big decision, where they kept the drug Vioxx on the Market, during a trial period even though they were aware of the risks involved. This was a very unethical decision, being that they were aware of the side effects. Because of statistical reasons they decided to leave it on the market.
Although there may be many ethical challenges that a company may face, at all cost there should be careful consideration taken when it comes to decision that are could possibly affect the company and its consumers. In Merck’s situation, they misused scientific data that were given to them and didn’t pay much to the out come and in turn had a failure with the drug Vioxx. This resulted in the deaths of individuals.
The Washington Post stated that Merck was using what the JAMA authors call "guest authorship and ghostwriting" to make it appear that research done by its employees or contractors was the work of scientists at medical schools and universities. Several studies suggested that this drug increased the chances of heart attacks, strokes and deaths.
The limitations and significance of the data is, researching the data in depth and in a larger frame to determine the efficacy of the drug. The ethical implications of data misuse in Merck’s was evident that once they found out about the dangers of the drug, there should have been all measures to take it off he market and let people know to stop taking it.
References
David Brown, April 16, 2008.
Maker of Vioxx Is Accused of Deception Page A01 Retrieved October 27, 2008 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/15/AR2008041502086
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