When public corporations break the law or act deceptively, it is often the small investor who pays the price. This was clearly evident in the case of Enron. In that case, laws were obviously broken and some officers -- but not all -- were prosecuted.

Merck's actions in the months and even years prior to the "voluntary" withdrawal of Vioxx from the market has come under scrutiny not because any laws were broken, but because these alleged "obstructionist" actions violate a tenet of former CEO George W. Merck who said: "We try never to forget that medicine is for the people. Not for the profits. The profits follow, and if we have remembered that, they have never failed to appear."

In a recent Pharma Marketing News opinion piece I suggested that "someone" should pay other than -- or more accurately -- in addition to the small stockholder (Merck's stock price declined precipitously after Vioxx was withdrawn). See Corporate Moral Values Anyone?

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