BLOGSCAN - "Be the Power," Never Mind the Data

Available in 3 parts on the Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry Blog (here, here, and here), and in one part on PharmaLot, is a video apparently used for training Merck pharmaceutical sales representatives to sell Vioxx (rofecoxib) to doubtful physicians. The strategy seemed to be to use flash and bluster to avoid dealing with concerns that Vioxx was no more effective a pain reliever than generic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and that Vioxx caused adverse effects, including myocardial infarction. Although waving around graphically fancy sales brochures was advised, dealing with the shaky data for clinical research (some of which later turned out to be gimmicked in favor of Vioxx) was not. Tell me again that story that pharma sales reps serve an educational function.