Daily Journal, "Merck Feared $437 Million In Lost Sales; Testimony Targets Firm's Knowledge of Vioxx's Risks"

          Merck & Co. anticipated it could lose nearly a fifth of a projected $2.5 billion in Vioxx sales if its marketing campaign failed to neutralize consumer concerns about cardiovascular risk associated with its once-popular painkiller, a marketing expert testified.
          Cornelia Pechmann, a professor of marketing at the University of California, Irvine, said Merck, the drug's manufacturer, identified concerns about heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular injuries as an obstacle to sales. Marketing research showed those concerns were the main barriers to consumer acceptance of the painkiller, Pechmann testified Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
          Merck foresaw a $437 million loss in sales if the company did not recalibrate the message to consumers to calm concern, she said.

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