“We try never to forget that medicine is for the people. It is not for profits.
The profits follow, and if we have remembered that, they have never failed to appear.”
[George W. Merck, 1950]

Nice photo of ice crystals, isn’t it?

Seems George’s old chestnut is being laid to rest as the caretaker bean-counter has set aside the organization’s once-revered “go-it-alone” approach today by announcing the purchase of SPG. Not sure how current and ex-MRKs see this though I’m sure the Chicken Littles have already rewound their cassettes to decree the fall of the sky, not to mention those who are more than ready to sell their children to retain the IS. So, after the very public wedgie known as rofecoxib, pipeline failures, marketing bungling and the ever-popular “Equinox”, “Topaz”, “Plan to Win”… etc annual codenames for involuntary redundancies, the next buzzword for everyone to learn is “synergize”.

I’m not sure about this reverse acquisition. On paper it looks like the Big M retains the name and gets therapeutic candidates for asthma/allergy, but I don’t see a great fit between the two pipelines or either corporate culture. However the two boards believe there are synergies to be had though chances are very good that there will be plenty of synergizing to go around for both sides of the 40.

On a related note, you’ve got to wonder with his track record whether the rank and file of any company will have the warm fuzzies when it’s announced that their new CEO is Fred.

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