Merck Has Released Its Latest Corporate Responsibility Report, This Morning...

Certainly, the company could be doing significantly more -- in many areas -- but to my eye, the report shows remarkable progress, particularly since the bad old days of the early 2000s.

In the 1960s to 1970s, Merck was consistently the most admired company in America. . . then, first under Reagan, then under Bush. . . all of that was replaced with means and methods to charge the top end of whatever "the market would bear" on many fronts. And it was in large part due to regulatory capture, by free market forces -- that allowed unbridled price inflation on life saving medicines. So Merck just rode along with the loosening regulatory tide. And, not surprisingly, Merck's reputation fell precipitously in the eyes of most Americans.

However, with the passage of the ACA of 2010, and the ascension of Kenneth Frazier as CEO/Chairman, the arc was bent back toward responsible, ethical and sustainable. . . growth, at Merck.

So, do give the report a once over. I'll not make any sort of commercial out of this (so I'll include no details from the report itself), but the truth of it is that this very old-line company -- and more than most of its peers, perhaps in the life sciences space, today. . . had ethical roots, in its leadership.

. . .George Wilhelm Herman Emanuel Merck (March 29, 1894 to November 9, 1957) was the president of Merck & Co. from 1925 to 1950 and a member of the Merck family. . . .

Now you know. Onward, grinning -- as the noose tightens -- around a would be (former) Tangerine dictator's ample, but turkey-skinned. . . neckline.

नमस्ते