Merck loses $50 million
in latest Vioxx trial

Merck Vioxx Lawsuits

Merck loses latest Vioxx case.

· Judge Tosses 'Grossly Excessive' $50 Million Award in Vioxx Case. The $50 million compensatory damage award in a federal Vioxx case this month was "grossly excessive," and a new trial must be held to decide damages for a retired FBI agent who suffered a heart attack after taking the painkiller, a federal judge ruled.

· New Orleans jury rules against Merck. Merck failed to warn doctors about the risks of its painkiller Vioxx and must pay a retired FBI agent $50 million to compensate for the heart attack he suffered after taking the drug, a federal jury found Thursday. The jury also found that Merck & Co. "knowingly misrepresented or failed to disclose" information about the drug to retired FBI agent Gerald Barnett's doctors.

· July 13 - Merck wins latest Vioxx case. Merck was found not liable in the seventh lawsuit over Vioxx, the arthritis painkiller that it pulled from the market because of heart attack risk, the company announced Thursday. The jury of five men and two women found Vioxx was not a substantial factor in the heart attack of a 68-year-old New Jersey woman, a court clerk said.

· Merck denies new allegations on Vioxx risk. Merck is denying news reports that suggest new data from the drug maker indicates Vioxx increased heart attack risks earlier than previously reported and that the risk for stroke persisted long after the patient stopped taking the drug.

· April 23 - $32 million verdict on latest Vioxx case. A Texas jury on Friday found Merck & Co. liable for the death of a 71-year-old man who had a fatal heart attack within a month of taking its since-withdrawn painkiller Vioxx and ordered the company to pay $32 million.

· April 11, 2006 - Jury awards $9 mln punitive damages in Vioxx trial. A jury on Tuesday awarded $9 million in punitive damages to a New Jersey man who blamed Merck & Co. Inc.'s Vioxx for his heart attack, but the company vowed to continue fighting suits over its withdrawn pain medicine. The punitive damages come on top of $4.5 million in compensatory damages the jury awarded 77-year-old John McDarby last week after they found Vioxx was a significant contributing factor to his heart attack and that Merck failed to adequately warn of the drug's risks.

· April 5, 2006 - Jury: Merck Failed To Warn Of Vioxx Risk. A state jury has found Merck & Co. liable for one of two former Vioxx users' heart attacks and ordered he receive $4.5 million in damages in a closely watched trial involving two New Jersey men. The jury found the company failed to adequately warn both plaintiffs about the risk factors linking the now-withdrawn painkiller to heart attacks and strokes, but said the drug was only a factor in one of the men's illnesses.

· Jury rules in favor of drug maker in first Vioxx win in federal court. A federal jury handed Merck & Co. a major victory Friday, clearing the drug maker of any responsibility in the death of a 53-year-old Florida man who had a heart attack after taking its once popular painkiller Vioxx for less than a month. This was the second court victory for Merck, and the first in a federal court.

· Second victory for Vioxx. Merck & Co.'s painkiller Vioxx wasn't to blame for a Florida man's fatal heart attack in 2001, a federal jury ruled Friday, the company's second victory in lawsuits filed concerning use of the drug. Jurors in New Orleans deliberated for three hours and 40 minutes before clearing Merck in the death of Richard "Dicky" Irvin, who had taken Vioxx for 23 days. The first trial in the case ended in a mistrial in Houston in December.

The lawsuit was the first Vioxx case to come to trial in federal court. Merck lost its first trial in state court in Texas and won the second in New Jersey. The company has refused to discuss settling Vioxx cases and has set aside $970 million to cover related legal costs.

· Judge Declares Mistrial In Federal Vioxx Case. The judge in the first federal Vioxx trial has declared a mistrial. After about 18 hours of deliberations over three days, the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Jurors were considering whether Merck and Co. was negligent in designing Vioxx, and whether the company failed to warn the public about the drug's risks. The case centers on the May 2001 death of Richard "Dicky" Irvin Jr., a Florida man who had a fatal heart attack a month after he started taking Vioxx to alleviate back pain. His wife, Evelyn Irvin Plunkett, claims in her lawsuit that her husband was in "very good health" when he started taking the once-popular painkiller, reported KPRC-TV in Houston.

· Jury Finds for Merck in Second Vioxx Case. Merck & Co. won a major victory in the battle over its Vioxx painkiller Thursday when a New Jersey state jury found that the drugmaker properly warned consumers about the risks of the medication. The finding means Merck won't be held liable for the 2001 heart attack suffered by a man taking Vioxx. After deliberating for less than eight hours over three days, the jury cleared Merck of allegations it failed to warn consumers about the drug's risks and engaged in "unconscionable commercial practices" in marketing it to doctors and their patients. The verdict was Merck's first win out of two Vioxx-related trials. A Texas jury found the company liable in a Vioxx user's death. Damages there will be cut to about one-tenth of the jury's $253 million award due to that state's caps on punitive damages.

· Jury Absolves Merck & Co. In Vioxx User's Heart Attack. In a major victory for drug maker Merck & Co., a jury Thursday absolved the Vioxx manufacturer of an Idaho postal worker's heart attack. After deliberating for less than eight hours over three days, the jury cleared Merck of allegations it failed to warn consumers about the drug's risks and engaged in "unconscionable commercial practices" in marketing it to doctors and their patients.

· Merck defense in second Vioxx case has rough start. Merck & Co. Inc. has only started presenting its defense in the second Vioxx trial, but one thing appears clear: The company's lawyers have gotten off to a shaky start. Already reeling from a big loss in the first Vioxx trial - and harsh criticism of how its legal team handled that case - Merck has a lot riding on the product liability trial under way in its home state of New Jersey.

· Lawyers study Viox trial, 'shirt sleeve miners panning for gold.' With 100 Vioxx lawsuits already filed and hundreds of other would-be plaintiffs on retainer, Davis, a trial lawyer from Teaneck, 133 miles away, is keenly interested in what happens here. For four weeks, he has been a daily presence in Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee's courtroom, absorbing what he can.

· Vioxx study showed no increased risk. A Merck & Co. Inc. scientist testified on Tuesday that tests conducted on the Vioxx pain killer before the company sought approval of the drug showed no evidence of increased heart risk. In marked contrast to the heated exchanges between the judge and a lawyer for the drug maker that roiled the courtroom on Friday, Merck attorney Stephen Raber calmly questioned Alise Reicin, vice president of clinical research at Merck Research Laboratories. Merck, which has just begun presenting its defense in the second Vioxx civil case to go to trial, is accused of hiding heart risks of the once popular pain killer for years in an effort to preserve the drug's multibillion dollar sales.

· Fox News: Vioxx Verdict: Merck Ordered to Pay More Than a Quarter Billion in Damages. A Texas jury found pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. liable for the death of a man who took the once-popular painkiller Vioxx in the first of thousands of lawsuits pending across the country. The decision came during the second day of deliberations.

The seven-man, five-woman jury awarded Robert Ernst's widow, Carol, $253.4 million in damages, which is a combination of his lost pay as a Wal-Mart produce manager, mental anguish, loss of companionship and punitive damages. That breaks down to about $229 million in punitive damages, and $24 million in mental anguish and loss of companionship.

· BusinessWeek: Merck loss likely to increase lawsuits. Merck & Co. suffered a serious blow Friday when it lost the first wrongful death lawsuit against it over its painkiller Vioxx, opening the floodgates for additional lawsuits and raising the risk that liability will climb higher than estimates that reach $18 billion. Merck & Co.'s stock sank $1.16, or 4 percent, to $29.25 after the jury awarded $253.4 million in damages to a widow of a man who died. Vioxx attorneys plan to appeal.

· CNN: Jury says Merck negligent. 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. Plaintiff Carol Ernst has won her lawsuit in Texas Superior Court in Angleton, which blames Vioxx for the 2001 death of her husband, Robert Ernst, a 59-year-old marathon runner and Wal-Mart worker who was taking the arthritis painkiller at the time of his death. Ernst died of a heart attack. The verdict held Merck liable for the death. Jurors voted 10-2 in favor of Ernst.

· Forbes: Merck Loses First Vioxx Trial. A jury ruled today against Merck on all major counts in the first trial relating to its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, awarding a Texas widow $253.4 million in damages. The verdict is a blow to the once well-regarded drug giant, whose shares immediately plunged as much as 8%, to $28.07. Merck (nyse: MRK - news - people ) lawyers promptly said they would appeal the verdict.

This is only the first of many cases against Merck. In the coming months, a case will be heard in the drug giant's home state of New Jersey. And the first federal case against Merck will be tried in New Orleans in November. After that, there are some 4,000 other state and federal cases. That number is expected to swell to 10,000 or more.

· Reuters: Jury finds Merck at fault in Texas man's death. A jury in the first civil trial against Merck & Co.'s (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) popular painkiller Vioxx on Friday found the pharmaceutical company liable for the 2001 death of a Texas man, awarding his widow a total of more than $250 million. Vioxx attorneys are expected to appeal.

· MarketWatch: Texas jury finds Merck liable for Vioxx. A Texas jury found Merck & Co. liable Friday in the sudden cardiac death of a man who had used the company's recalled pain killer Vioxx, and awarded his widow $253.4 million in damages. A state jury in Angleton, Tex., awarded $24.4 million in actual damages and $229 million in punitive damages to Carol Ernst, whose late husband Robert died in his sleep in 2001, after taking Vioxx for about eight months.

· Bloomberg: Merck Told to Pay $253 Million in Vioxx User's Death. Merck & Co. must pay more than $253 million to the family of a Texas man who died after taking the company's Vioxx painkiller, a jury ruled in the first personal-injury case over the drug to come to trial. Jurors deliberated more than 10 hours in Angleton, Texas, before awarding $24.4 million in actual damages and $229 million in punitive damages to the family of Robert Ernst. Vioxx lawyers will appeal.

· Science Daily: Merck to appeal $253 million Vioxx verdict. Merck & Co. vowed Friday to appeal a Texas jury's award of $253 million in a wrongful death suit over the company's Vioxx medication. The decision for the plaintiff, the widow of 59-year-old Robert Ernst, came during the second day of deliberations in the nation's first civil trial over the painkiller, which was taken by some 20 million people before Merck pulled it from the market in September, CNN said.

· BBC News: U.S. giant punished for faulty drug. US drugs giant Merck is to blame for the fatal heart attack suffered by a man taking its painkiller Vioxx, a Texas jury has ruled. The firm was found guilty of selling a defective product, and ordered to pay the man's widow $253.4 million.

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