Robert J Samples Loc: Round Rock, Texas

As far as I can recall this happened sometime in the late 1960’s, when the pharmaceutical company, Merrill had a product called Mer 29 on the market for several years. Then suddenly due to some serious side effects, it was recalled from the market.

I am a little fogy regarding details this far in the future, but I believe the Food and Drug Administration had some questions exactly what the company had instructed their salesmen to say in promoting Mer 29. When a new product is released there are clear guidelines about exactly what the approved claims and side effects of this products are. The FDA wanted to know if there had been discreet use of claims beyond those approved.

So, to that end there was rumored a warrant out to arrest or detain any of the sales representatives of Merrill and have them give a disposition on what they were instructed to tell doctors about the product.

So that there would be no Merrill representatives at home to be apprehended, Merrill had issued an order that all their salesmen were to take their families and leave home for a full week. They could go anywhere, visit family, stay in a hotel, anything but stay at home and be deposed.

It was the first and only time I had ever of such an extreme measure being taken by a drug company or by the FDA. I never heard the final disposition of this case as things settled down and the drug was pulled off the market.

Many years later I am now a district manager and in Louisiana. Working with one of my salesmen we were visiting a pharmacy in Golden Meadow, Louisiana, which is a few miles from Grand Isle, the end of the very tip of the land in Louisiana that extends far out into the Gulf of Mexico. While my salesman was taking his order, I was wandering around in the back of the store. I was in an area where they kept prescription products that has expired dates. It is standard policy that all unopened packages of a company’s product can be returned for full credit. I was curious if there were any of our products that had to be returned.

Among all this clutter, I suddenly discovered a strange package that upon closer examination was a package of Mer 29. It had never been opened. I carried it back up front and inquired of the pharmacist if I could buy it. I had already begun collecting old bottles, unique items and this was by far the most odd and rare of all I had found. He sold it to me, and I immediately flushed the product down the commode and kept both the bottle and its package for my collection.

I am at loss to remember the drug was withdrawn from the market due to the side effect of causing irreversible cataracts, among other things.

As with most products the length of time for clinical tests has grown longer and more expensive, and in the case of Mer 29 it was very possibly an effective drug for the conditions indicated, but had not been tested long enough to have all the side effects show up during the test period. Just Sayin…RJS

Iowa Farmer Loc: Iowa City Iowa

Another interesting story, RJS!

FixorFish Loc: SW Oregon

A cautionary tale from the past, that should cause all of us to urge the powers that be, to NOT RUSH the steps necessary to validate a safe vaccine.
I possess a B.S. in biology, pre-med oriented. My oldest brother is an M.D./PhD in Biochemistry, my oldest sister is a Cytotechnologist (runs a "blood lab"), my little sister is a Radiologist. We are collectively APPALLED at the rush tactics being imposed on this Covid-19 vaccine development presently. It will undoubtedly lead to untoward consequences that will keep both the medical and litigation communities busy for the untold future.....we are sad about this.
The above tale of how Merrill handled the "problem" is indicative of the corporate world (and now our present administration) acts under duress..... deflect and distract....."maybe the populace won't notice or care"........... sorry, you are wrong.......WE DO !!!

PS...glad you "destroyed" it, RJS..... but now... however miniscule...it is in your town's water system....not good. PLEASE...NEVER FLUSH DRUGS DOWN THE TOILET !!!!!!

Robert J Samples Loc: Round Rock, Texas

Yep, You are absolutely right. That flushing happened sometime in the 1970's in New Orleans. But it won't happen again. Just Sayin....RJS

FixorFish Loc: SW Oregon

We knew (acknowledged ?) so much less in the '60's &'70s in regards to pollution, solutions for disposal, etc.
Sad to say, I remember using a circular saw to cut the ASBESTOS sheeting we enclosed a gas furnace "closet" with, circa 1972....no mask, doubtful I even wore safety glasses back then. Same project (restoring an 1881 Victorian house), my Dad, with no mask, literally disc-sanded every piece of siding on the entire house, all the 15-20 coats of paint accumulated over the 90+ yrs, at the time...... gotta be some LEAD-BASED PAINT in a few of those layers ! He even scoffed when I chastised him for buying gallons of PENTACHLOROTHANE (..ODANE ?), a wood preservative that had been declared a carcinogen and was due to be taken off the market.....He bought all he could find at the hardware store and lumberyard...."I've been using it all my life, there are fenceposts and door thresholds that still look good, and that was 30,40 years ago".
My hope is we pay attention to the warnings and heed them......Dad never smoked or drank & he died of multiple cancers in 1999.

Robert J Samples Loc: Round Rock, Texas

Sorry to hear the loss of your father. How old was he? Just Sayin...RJS

Robert J Samples Loc: Round Rock, Texas

I remember a cartoon of two guys in lab coats running down the hall to their boss's office, "We have just discovered that everything causes cancer!" Just Sayin....RJS

FixorFish Loc: SW Oregon

4 months shy of his 80th. As he told me on his deathbed,..." Lived a good full life, .....proud of my life, as a matter of fact, and yes, Son, I realize pride is one of the 7 deadly sins,.....don't care, still have it."

Robert J Samples Loc: Round Rock, Texas

A wise man, and you got the benefit of that. Being proud of the way he lived his life is not necessarily any sin at all. My father died of a heart attack at age 63, way too young and I really miss him, even now. Just Sayin..RJS

FixorFish Loc: SW Oregon

I had a chemistry professor that joked that "they" had just found out that white rats are genetically predisposed to have cancer !

(would pretty much have invalidated ALL the cancer research going on at the time, since 99% of testing was being done with rats ! LOL !)

GSMJr Loc: SoCal> Pflugerville (Austin), TX

Take your expired or unused drugs to a pharmacy for disposal.
They will dispose of the drugs in a safe manner using FDA disposal protocols.