Merrell Pharmaceuticals

Assignee Merrell Pharmaceuticals Utility Irreversible GABA-T Inhibitor... 

Raney, M. Process of Producing Nickel Catalysts 1961 US 2,977,327 Richardson-Merrell Pharmaceutical Compositions containing Substituted Aralkyl Amines 1967 GB 1,071,120... 

Philip M. Weintraub completed his Masters and Ph.D. degrees at The Ohio State University under the direction of Michael P. Cava. After a brief stint at the DuPont Experimental Station, he took a position at Hess Clark, a veterinary pharmaceutical division of Richardson Merrell. In 1970 he was transferred to the Wm S. Merrell Pharmaceutical Co. where he remained through several mergers. In 1998, with the formation of Hoechst-Marion-Roussel, he moved to Bridgewater, New Jersey where he remains through two more mergers as a medicinal chemist. He was an editor of Annual Reports in Organic Synthesis from 1990-2004. 

In 1983, Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. voluntarily removed Bendectin from the market because of the many product liability suits pending. However, subsequent in-depth analysis of epidemiological and scientific data indicated that the therapeutic use of Bendectin had no measurable teratogenic effects. Nevertheless, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence, a number of jury decisions were rendered against the company (providing an argument for tort reform). 

Like BASF, Dow is a firm believer in vertical integration. It has always tried to connect its thermoplastic and elastomer productions to upstream steam crackers while making its chloralkali operations less dependent on PVC than other producers by developing various lines of chlorine derivatives on site. Even before BASF, Dow left the field of pharmaceuticals with the sale of Marion Merrell to Hoechst and has increased its stake in crop protection chemicals through the acquisition of Eli Lilly s interests in DowElanco. The announced takeover of Rohm Haas fungicide and insecticide lines will further enhance Dow s presence in this sector. 

In 1993, an opinion from the Supreme Court of the United States in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 US 579, held that the adoption of the Federal Rules impliedly overturned the decision in Frye. Importantly, the text of the FRE does... 

The Federal Rules of Evidence (ERE) were adopted in 1975. Subsequently most states (at least 37) have adopted their own codified rules of evidence modeled closely on the FRE. For scientific evidence, the most relevant of the Rules are found in Article VII of the FRE in a section known as Opinions and Expert Testimony. Prior to 1993, some federal appellate courts had applied Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence to medical and scientific experts. (Rule 702 authorizes scientific testimony whenever it will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue.) In 1993, in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 US 579, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an important interpretation of Rule 702. Seven of the nine justices ruled that judges must serve as evidentiary gatekeepers who determine whether proffered evidence is scientifically valid and relevant. The Court suggested several factors for judges to consider in determining whether to admit a particular theory or technique Is the theory or hypothesis testable Has it been tested Has the theory or technique been subjected to peer review and publication For a particular scientific technique or methodology, what is the known or potential rate of error What (if any) are the standards that control the technique s operation To what extent is the theory or technique generally accepted in the scientific community ... 

The U.S.-based pharmaceutical company William S. Merrell, Inc., licensed thalidomide from its German manufacturer, Chemie Griinenthal, in 1958. After carrying out laboratory, animal, and initial human tests, the company submitted an application to the FDA for marketing authorization. Frances Kelsey, the medical officer assigned to review the application, found deficiencies in the animal studies and criticized the company s testing methods.20 She then requested additional toxicity tests, putting the application on hold. 

Nicotine polacrilex Nicorette Nicotine- polacrilex gum Lakeside Pharmaceuticals (Merrell Dow) 2 mg, 4 mg Up to 24 pieces OTC... 

Halazy, S., and Danzin, C., PhosphonoaUcylpurine derivatives as purine nucleoside phosphorylase inhibitors, Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Eur. Patent Appl. EP 338168, 1989 Chem. Abstr., 112, 158267, 1990. 

Stemerick, D.M.. Farnesyl protein transferase inhibitors as anticancer agents, Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Int. Patent Appl. WO 9419357, 1994 Chem. Abstr, 121, 301073, 1994. 

At the same time, Dow moved to bolster its position in pharmaceuticals by acquiring a leading mid-sized firm, Marion Laboratories. Dow consolidated its new property with Merrell-Dow Pharmaceutical and its Allied Laboratories to form Marion Merrell Dow, the ninth-largest pharmaceutical company in the United States. To finance this move, it took the company public while retaining 67 percent of its equity. ... 

In the mid-1990s Hoechst Celanese made two moves to support its new focus on pharmaceuticals. In 1995 it bought Marion Merrell Dow from Dow Chemical. At the end of the next year, Hoechst Celanese acquired the remaining interest in its French subsidiary Roussel Uclaf on the open market for 7.1 billion. It then combined these units into a new entity, Hoechst Marion Roussel (HMR). Then, in 1999, as further discussed in Chapter 9, HMR joined with Rhone-Poulenc Rorer in still another megamerger to produce Aventis. Following this deal, Aventis continued to spin off the chemical properties of its constituent companies, a story well beyond the scope of this book. 

Sterling-Winthrop, G. D. Searle, Merrell, Marion (initially), A. H. Robbins, and Richardson-Vicks, while European competitors acquired Cutter, Morton, Marion (second-hand), Rorer, and Syntex. Hence no new major pharmaceutical companies were established after the 1920s. 

The analysis found 85,694 different Federal product liability cases involving a total of 19,456 lead defendants. Pharmaceuticals and health care products represented 13.5 percent of the total cases but only 2.2 percent of the total number of defendants. Of the 11,292 suits for pharmaceutical and other health products filed, 72 percent are attributable to five fins, and 60 percent are attributable to two companies-A H. Robins and Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals.9Figures 7-1 and 7-2 show trends in these cases over time. 

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