Merck's Vioxx Legal Strategy Benefits its CEO
Merck’s CEO, Dick Clark (maybe he should go by Richard?), seemingly had his work cut out for .jpg)
him when he assumed leadership of the company in May, 2005. At that time, Merck had withdrawn Vioxx from the market, its stock price had plummeted and the company was being sued by tens of thousands of people. Thanks to the launch of several new products, including Vytorin and Gardasil, a brilliantly-conceived Vioxx legal strategy which resulted in a $4.85 billion settlement for much of the litigation, Merck‘s stock price is soaring and has been able to restore some of its former glory.
As a reward for his dedication and hard work, Mr. Clark received $14.7 million in 2007–an 80% increase over his 2006 compensation package. Don’t get me wrong; I am sure that he is a very talented, hard working guy who deserves every penny of his 2007 compensation package for bringing Merck back from the “dead”. That said, I can’t help but wonder what ex-Merck employees, who lost their jobs because of the Vioxx debacle, think about Mr. Clark’s compensation package. Given the growing paucity of pharmaceutical and biotechnology jobs in NJ, I suspect that some of them could use a little extra cash right about now!
Until next time….
Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (try Merck they gotta be hiring)!!!!!!!!
