Merck-Sponsored Report Finds Managers Didn't Conceal Vioxx Concerns

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. - A report commissioned by Merck & Co. Inc. and based on a 20-month internal investigation found that the drug manufacturer's senior executives did not knowingly put patients at risk or hide safety information in developing and marketing Vioxx.

The Sept. 6 report, on which Merck spent approximately $21 million, criticized certain Merck promotional activity but generally absolved the company's top management.

A Special Committee of the Merck Board of Directors in December 2004 retained former U.S. District Court Judge John S. Martin Jr. of the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton in New York to conduct the …