Vioxx News

We have compiled the latest news on the Vioxx recall and subsequent litigation.

Vioxx Cases Near Trial on West Coast	The National Law Journal
	March 27, 2006

The lawyers involved in the first West Coast trial against the maker of Vioxx are butting heads over whether jurors should decide one or more of the cases at the same time.

More than 1,800 lawsuits have been filed in California against Merck & Co. Inc. alleging that executives promoted the prescription pain reliever even though they knew it might cause patients to die or suffer from heart attacks.

Legal Strategy for Vioxx to Test Merck	Washington Post
	January 27, 2006

Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. vowed to fight every claim filed by plaintiffs who say they were injured by the withdrawn painkiller Vioxx. Now, with 11 cases slated for trial in the next five months, the viability of the company's scorched-earth strategy is likely to become clear.

More than 9,200 lawsuits involving 18,250 plaintiff groups have been filed against Merck, whcih pulled Vioxx off the market in September 2004. Merck took the action because of a study that showed the drug was associated with increased risk of heart attacks and strokes after 18 months of use. So far Merck's courtroom record is mixed—one win, one loss and one hung jury, all in cases involving relatively short-term of the pain drug.

Judge Declares Mistrial in Federal Vioxx Case	MSNBC
	December 12, 2005

A judge declared a mistrial Monday in the first federal lawsuit over the once-popular painkiller Vioxx after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

Merck & Co. emerged from its third Vioxx trial Monday with a hung jury when the panel failed, in about 18 hours of deliberations over three days, to side with the drug maker or with the wife of a 53-year-old Florida man who died after taking Vioxx for about a month.

Jurors in Vioxx Trial Are Told to Press On	The New York Times
	December 10, 2005

Jurors in the first federal lawsuit against Merck over the painkiller Vioxx adjourned on Saturday and will return on Monday to try to reach a verdict, despite telling the judge earlier in the day that they were deadlocked.

Another Caution on Vioxx, Celebrex	CNN
	November 13, 2005

Merck's Vioxx, Pfizer's Celebrex and similar painkillers increase the risk of death among patients who have already survived a previous heart attack, especially when taken in high doses, according to data released Sunday at the American Heart Association conference in Dallas.

Jury: Merck Negligent	CNN
	August 19, 2005

Merck has been held liable by a Texas jury in the first lawsuit involving its former blockbuster drug Vioxx, in a case that could have a profound effect on thousands of other cases filed against the company.

Threats to Critics of Vioxx Alleged	The Philadephia Inquirer
	June 5, 2005

One day in 2000 after lecturing about risks of the pain-reliever Vioxx, Harvard University professor Lee Simon got a call that shocked him.

It was from Louis M. Sherwood, then a senior vice president at Merck & Co. Inc., maker of Vioxx. Based in West Point, Montgomery County, Sherwood challenged Simon's view—later proved correct—that Vioxx could cause more strokes than a rival drug.

Sherwood didn't stop there. He said "he would hurt my career if I continued to lecture," Simon recalled. "I was astonished."

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Vioxx Timeline

May 1999
Vioxx is approved by the FDA.

March 2000
Study finds Vioxx patients had double the rate of serious cardiovascular problems compared to those taking naproxen.

February 2001
FDA advisory panel recommends warning label noting possible link to heart attacks and strokes.

September 2001
The FDA warns Merck for misleading claims about the safety of the drug.

April 2002
FDA requests that Merck add a warning on the label about cardiovascular problems.

August 2004
FDA announces results of a study that found Vioxx users were more likely to suffer a heart attack or sudden cardiac death than those taking Celebrex.

September 2004
Merck & Co. withdraws Vioxx.

March 2005
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana begins pretrial proceedings for those people pursuing their Vioxx lawsuit in federal court.

August 2005
Texas jury returns a verdict in favor of family of man who died after taking Vioxx. The jury found Merck negligent in the death of the man.

August 2006
New Orleans jury returns a $51 million verdict in favor of Gerald Barnett. Mr. Barnett, a retired FBI agent, was represented by O'Steen & Harrison and Mark Robinson.

November 2007
Merck announces a global settlement to resolve claims pending in U.S. courts for $4.85 billion.