WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- A junior member of a Senate health committee on Thursday sent a letter to Merck & Co. (MRK) Chief Executive Richard T. Clark questioning the safety implications of the company's reliance on outsourcing.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D.-Ohio, said he wants the pharmaceutical giant to explain how it tracks the ingredients in the drugs it develops, and how it ensures each facility it outsources to meets safety standards.

Sen. Brown said he also wants the Whitehouse Station, N.J., company to confirm that every pharmaceutical product it makes is manufactured in a Food and Drug Administration-approved facility, according to the letter, a copy of which was released to the media Thursday.

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