About the manufacturer

Vioxx® (rofecoxib) is one of the most heavily advertised drugs in the country. In 1999 Vioxx was introduced with an advertising blitz that cost $161 million. In 2000 Merck's ad budget for Vioxx was bigger than the budgets for Pepsi or Budweiser beer. Sales of Vioxx totaled more than $2.6 billion in 2001, making it the eighth ranking drug in the world that year. Even with the increasing understanding of its risks, Vioxx was still the 12th highest seller in 2002 (the last year for which statistics are available).

Headquartered in Whitehouse Station, NJ, Merck is a publicly-traded, international company with over 64,000 employees worldwide. Together with their subsidiaries, the company sold over $50 billion worth of pharmaceutical drugs, vaccines and other medical products in 2002. Some of their more common brands include Zocor, Propecia, Fosamax and Singulair.