An in-depth look at big pharma's flagship company
The Merck Druggernaut takes readers inside Merck, the world's second most profitable drug company and maker of the world's bestselling drug, Prilosec. Consistently named one of Fortune magazine's Most Admired Companies, Merck struggles to maintain its reputation for being the most ethical of the big drug makers, refusing to slash research and development budgets in the face of declining profits, falling stock market prices, and questionable accounting. Author Fran Hawthorne, one of the leading journalists covering healthcare, has written an excellent examination of a business paragon with much-needed insight on the cutthroat world of pharmaceuticals. It's a story that will interest the business world as well as consumer and healthcare advocates by detailing the vital issues in medicine and healthcare today. More than just a compelling story of success in a difficult industry, more than simply the biography of one of big business's most recognizable names, The Merck Druggernaut takes a thoughtful look at some of the major issues of our time and the way those issues intertwine with the world of business.
Fran Hawthorne (New York, NY) is the Assistant Managing Editor at Crain's New York Business. She has been covering business for more than twenty years for such publications as Fortune, BusinessWeek, and Institutional Investor, with a prevailing interest in healthcare and pharmaceuticals. At Crain's, she spearheads the publication of two to three special healthcare issues per year.
PRAISE FOR The Merck Druggernaut
"Few business stories involve life and death. This one does, and Fran Hawthorne tells it with insight and verve. This is an important book for anyone who has ever taken a pill or prescribed one (or bought a pharmaceutical share). It ought to be read as carefully as the directions on a prescription bottle."
—Firth Calhoun, Editor at Large, Institutional Investor
"Fran Hawthorne has produced a compelling, detail-rich account of how the once-mighty Merck has fallen from its perch atop the drug industry amid the turmoil that has shaken all the players in the business. Anyone seeking to understand the vast changes this critical industry has undergone in recent years should read The Merck Druggernaut."
—Hilary Rosenberg, author of The Vulture Investors and A Traitor to His Class
