October 8, 2004: Merck CEO: Vioxx-Heart Problem Link ‘Totally Unexpected’

Raymond Gilmartin, Merck’s chairman and chief executive officer tells the Boston Globe he was “stunned” when he learned a Merck clinical trial had confirmed that Vioxx increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes. “It was totally out of the blue.… This was totally unexpected.” [Boston Globe, 10/9/2004]