Did Merck use false pretenses to monopolize the market for mumps vaccines?

A pair of lawsuits – one of which is filed by former employees and the other by doctors – make this allegation and a federal judge is allowing both claims to proceed.

The former employees - virologists who filed a whistleblower lawsuit four years ago - charge Merck knew its vaccine was less effective than the purported 95% efficacy level. And they alleged that senior management was aware, complicit and in charge of testing that concealed the actual effectiveness, according to court documents.

They claim to have witnessed fIrsthand what they describe as "improper testing and data falsification in which Merck engaged in order to conceal what the drug maker knew about the vaccine's diminished efficacy. In fact, their Merck superiors and senior management pressured them to participate in the fraud and subsequent cover up when they objected to and tried to stop it," according to their lawsuit.

The feds declined to join the lawsuit, which was unsealed two years ago. Shortly afterewards, the physicians subsequently filed the other lawsuit charge the vaccine was mislabeled and was not the product for which the government or other purchasers paid, which meant that Merck violated the False Claims Act, according to court documents. Both lawsuits note that Merck held an exclusive license to sell a mumps vaccine and its actions discouraged competition.