MSD cuts ties with Schbang post the Poonam Pandey controversy

According to media reports, MSD, the Indian affiliate of US pharma company Merck, has ended its association with Schbang -- the digital marketing agency behind the Poonam Pandey death hoax. The company that manufactures the Gardasil vaccine, protecting against HPV strains causing cervical cancer, cut ties with the agency soon after the news of the publicity campaign broke.

Amidst the controversy, many social media posts alleged that MSD was involved in the publicity stunt. Post which, MSD told ET, stating that the campaign 'is not associated with MSD in any way or form' and, following this incident, it has terminated the service contract with Schbang, on the grounds of conflict of interest. 

On February 6, venture capitalist Mahesh Murthy made a connection between Schbang, Poonam Pandey, and MSD's HPV vaccine in a LinkedIn post. He referenced a link suggesting that the awareness campaign had garnered more than 43 million views on YouTube and had been endorsed by multiple influencers. 

MSD rolled out the campaign #HPVsearchkiyakya in July 2022 aiming at educating the youth of India on HPV and HPV-related diseases. It collaborated with Bollywood actor Sara Ali Khan.