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Can the Merck (MRK) story get any worse? Apparently it can. Just as another Vioxx trial is going to the jury, the New England Journal of Medicine has accused the company of withholding key data is its research. As far as medical research goes, I don’t think it’s a good idea to get into a fight with the New England Journal of Medicine.

The prestigious journal said that Merck deleted data regarding three heart attacks that made “certain calculations and conclusions in the article incorrect.” That doesn’t sound good.

In the first two Vioxx trials, a key to Merck’s defense was that the company had always been upfront about its research. Right now, there are over 6,000 pending lawsuits on Vioxx. According to the Chicago Tribune: “Some analysts have estimated that Merck could be on the hook for up to $50 billion in potential liability stemming from Vioxx.”

Posted by edelfenbein at December 9, 2005 9:44 AM