Martin and outside directors will examine events leading to the withdrawal of the drug on Sept. 30, when Merck said Vioxx doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes in users who took it for 18 months. Merck faces hundreds of lawsuits claiming it hid health risks of Vioxx, which had $2.5 billion in 2003 sales.

''We are charged by the special committee to uncover the facts, which is what we will do,'' Martin said in an interview. ''I don't think you will find anything hidden here. These are people who are committed to finding out what happened.''

Outside lawyers hired by companies to do independent inquiries often advise boards to fire or discipline employees, reform governance or practices and give the results of their inquiries to prosecutors or regulators.

''I will have no idea what we will recommend until I know the facts,'' Martin said. ''I don't know at this point what form the report will take.''

Shares of Merck, the No. 2 U.S. drugmaker, have fallen 38 percent this year. The U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating. Martin said that he and a committee led by William G. Bowen, president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, won't whitewash Merck's actions.

Martin said he is not charged with handling Merck's response to prosecutors or the SEC.

''I'm sure as we go along and as we finish our work, those agencies will be anxious to know what the independent review has discovered,'' he said. ''I'm sure once we complete that process, there are people who will want to talk to us.''

Martin spent 13 years as a federal judge in Manhattan before retiring in September 2003 and joining the New York law firm Debevoise & Plimpton. Many lawyers at the firm will help him review documents and interview workers at Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., he said.