Merck just got slugged almost a billion dollars for illegally marketing Vioxx (a painkiller). 

The government says Merck’s sales representatives promoted the drug as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, even though it hadn’t been approved for it. The company continued to do so even after it was warned by the Food and Drug Administration to stop. The government also says Merck lied to state Medicaid agencies about the safety of Vioxx. 

Of course, Merck sold more that $11b of Vioxx over the 5 years up to September 2004. The company turns over almost $50b p.a.. 

Welcome to the club of GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and AstraZeneca.