Ambulance chasers take chunk out of economy

Merck to Eliminate 7,000 Jobs, 5 Plants

TRENTON, N.J. - Embattled drugmaker Merck & Co. said Monday it will cut 7,000 jobs — 11 percent of its work force — and close or sell five manufacturing plants in the first phase of a reorganization meant to save up to $4 billion by the end of the decade. Its shares dropped more than 4 percent in afternoon trading.

The announcement, anticipated by Wall Street, comes as Merck faces the loss of patent protection in June for its blockbuster cholesterol drug Zocor and thousands of lawsuits and billions of dollars in potential liability from its recalled painkiller Vioxx.

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Congrats to the purveyors of demagoguery and crap science! You know who you are: you oleaginous reptiles whose beady eyes grace the back of our Yellow Pages.

Find an unfortunate soul, mesmerize a scientifically-challenged jury with a sob story and score big! Beats having to actually produce something for a living!

We await the day that cases like those against Merck are tried before scientists rather than those who, however good their intentions, cannot be expected to separate complicated scientific facts from tear jerkery and "I feel your pain"-ism.

In the meantime, thousands continue to suffer as drugs that could ameliorate their symptoms are kept off the market lest one in a million have a bad reaction but a good lawyer.