The FDA and the Vioxx Recall - Essay Example

FDA is also legally liable for not requesting and analysing Vioxx’s safety from Merck’s clinical trials. Merck is ethically and moral responsibility for ensuring that health care practitioners are aware of Vioxx’s use. According to Lawrence, Weber and Post (263), Merck’s failure to divulge the drug’s potential to increase blood pressure was motivated by the need to gain a competitive advantage over the manufacturers of VIGOR. This was due to fact that VIGOR had less potential for aggravating high blood pressure in its users. Lawrence, Weber and Post (162) cite the need for FDA to appear as a functional agency despite the United States’ increasingly lacklustre performance in producing noticeable and economically drugs over the last decade in pharmacology. This makes the FDA a significant stakeholder in Merck’s success with Vioxx, which made it susceptible to errors of omission and collusion.

 FDA’s mandate to authorize and approve new drugs into the US market makes it legally responsible for any damages that might have been caused by Vioxx. Merck is also legally liable as the originator and supplier of drug with questionable side effects. Not only does Merck and FDA took part in actions that serve to break the set outlaws in the constitution, but they also go against societal morals and ethics. The fact that Vioxx’s sale and distribution were halted only in the US, and continued in other countries is ethically inappropriate.