Ethical Dilemma with Stakeholders
You're the CEO of a pharmaceutical company. Your best-selling drug ($2B annual revenue, used by 4 million patients for chronic pain) has…
As CEO, my guiding principle in this crisis is simple: You cannot manage a balance sheet if you destroy your soul, and you cannot protect shareholders by killing patients. Delaying disclosure of a fatal side effect to protect a stock price is not only a profound ethical failure; it is corporate suicide.Read the full answer
This is a defining moment for my leadership and the company. The pressure from the board to "wait for more data" is a trap that has destroyed pharmaceutical companies in the past (e.g., Merck with Vioxx). Hiding a safety signal to manipulate stock price is securities fraud and criminal negligence.Read the full answer