THE SMELL OF VIOXX IN THE MORNING...
In the 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 (to date) election cycles, Merck's Political Action Committee donated, respectively, $319,578 and (again, to date) $259, 653 to federal political candidates.
In 1999-2000, 72 percent of the total went to Republican candidates and PACs in 2001-2002, so far, 64 percent of the total has gone to Republican candidates and PACs.
Merck's CEO, Raymond Gilmartin, is also a big individual G.O.P. donor.
Since 1999, Gilmartin has contributed $74,000 of his own money to federal political campaigns.
More than half of that amount -- $40,000 -- has gone directly to the Republican National Committee.
Another $20,000 of it has gone to individual Republican candidates and their PACs. SOURCE
While expiring patents on popular drugs like Prilosec and Vasotec pose a threat to future earnings at pharmaceutical giant Merck (nyse: MRK), the Bush plan to include prescription drug coverage under Medicare could help make up for the losses. Merck's pharmacy services division, Merck-Medco (1999 revenue: $18 billion), could also benefit under the Bush regime...
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