Minimizing the Mess at Merck

"With the Vioxx mess, it's now more likely that Merck's board will accelerate its search for a successor to Chairman and CEO Raymond V. Gilmartin. And increasingly, Wall Street analysts believe Gilmartin may step down ahead of his announced retirement in the spring of 2006. The stock price has been hammered, falling more than 40% since Vioxx was taken off the market Sept. 30." [Business Week]