Poison pills

To the millions who suffer from chronic pain and arthritis, Vioxx seemed like a miracle. One of the most widely promoted and prescribed pain medications in the world, Vioxx became a pharmaceutical bonanza before being abruptly taken off the market in September 2004, after it was revealed that it led to an increased risk of heart-related disease and death. Drawing on internal documents, video footage, court testimony, and exclusive interviews, as well as three decades of experience inside the medical industry, Tom Nesi tells the dramatic story of what the drug's manufacturer, Merck, knew and when. Set against a history of the origins of the modern pharmaceutical industry, it is a shocking narrative of business and medical science run amok, with a cast of characters ranging from the highest levels of the multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical industry to research scientists, marketers, drug company sales reps, and the Food and Drug Administration.--From publisher description.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.