Merck Pays $321.6M for Illegal Marketing of Vioxx
Merck & Co. was slapped with a $321.6 million criminal fine for illegally marketing its painkiller Vioxx as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis before that use was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A U.S. district court judge in Boston sentenced the company to pay the fine after it pled guilty to violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for introducing a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, according to The Wall Street Journal