Ethics in Companies

Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of the Health Research Group for Washington-based advocate Public Citizen, said he isn't surprised the ads continue to run. "There's a $20 billion market for cholesterol-lowering drugs, and companies will do whatever it takes to get as much of that market as they can, even if it means letting people continue to take prescription drugs that they know are not beneficial and that even may be harmful," he said. "What's much more likely is that the companies put their stockholders above their responsibility to public health."
----Advertising Age


With such monopoly on pharmaceuticals companies,could it be that we are all to blame for the greed that many have just simply taken advantage of. If we didn’t fall so gullible to the tricks and lies that some miracle pill could take away all are sicknesses, than pharmaceuticals companies couldn’t so openly exploit us like they do.

Unlike Merck's Vioxx, which in 2004 was found to contribute to heart attacks in some patients and was pulled off the market, Vytorin is safe and can still be sold. It does, the study found, reduce the levels of LDL in patients. It just doesn't, according to the study, live up to its claim of reducing plaque build-up. That's why Peter Pitts, a former associate commissioner for the FDA and now the president of New York-based Center for Medicine in the Public Interest says, this won't be the death knell for DTC that some think it is.
----Advertising Age

It is disappointing that even with the bodily harm the medication generates; some still feel that this company has a chance and the right to stay in business. I feel that because of the deception the company should be put out of business and face harsh legal issues. There is no cure for the mistrust generated by the way this pharmaceutical company handled this situation. It not only destroys its image, but also the image of other pharmaceutical companies that could possible have the cure for our bodily afflictions.

Clemens' Case

The story concerning Clemens seems very deceptive. It seems as though no one knows exactly what the truth is. His lawyer along with his public relations teams allowed Clemens to dig himself in to a hole. If they had been quicker with a response about the allegations as well as allowed any positive truths to come to light the situation would not had progressed. Allowing their client to unknowingly hang himself at news conferences and on television was the end all for his career. Perception is reality, and the way he was perceived by the media after his out bursts of anger brought his credibility down.