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December 22, 2006 (VIOXX News | Garza v. Merck & Co., Inc.)Judge Signs $8.7 Million Verdict in Garza v. Merck & Co., Inc., A district judge in Texas made a Starr County verdict against pharmaceutical giant Merck official on Thursday, but reduced the $32 million originally awarded with it to about $8.7 million. "We are very pleased he entered judgment in favor of the Garza family," said Mauro Ruiz, attorney for Leonel Garza's family. A Starr County jury awarded Garza's family $32 million in damages in April for his 2001 death from a heart attack after taking Merck's painkiller Vioxx.
December 21, 2006 (VIOXX News | Garza v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Texas judge Enters $8.7 Million Vioxx Verdict vs Merck Verdict for Defense, A Texas judge has entered a verdict of about $8.7 million against Merck & Co. over its withdrawn Vioxx painkiller, according to documents provided on Thursday by the company. A jury in Starr County, Texas had awarded $32 million in April to the family of a 71-year-old man, Leonel Garza, who had taken the drug. A judgment by Judge Alex Gabert entered December 21 reduced the punitive damages in the case, pursuant to state limits. Garza died on April 21, 2001 after taking Vioxx less than a month for arthritis.
December 15, 2006 (VIOXX News | Albright v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Alabama Man Loses Lawsuit against Vioxx Maker Merck, State court jurors in Alabama sided with drug manufacturer Merck & Co. today and rejected the claims of an Alabama man who blamed the painkiller Vioxx for a heart attack in 2001. Attorneys for Gary Albright had told jurors he should receive as much as $5.75 million in his lawsuit, filed last year. But a jury of eight women and four men rejected Albright's claims that Vioxx caused his heart attack and that the company failed to reveal potential dangers of the drug before pulling it from the market in 2004. It was Merck's second victory in a court case this week. On Wednesday, a federal jury in New Orleans rejected a Tennessee man's claim that Vioxx should be blamed for his 2003 heart attack.
December 13, 2006 (VIOXX News | Dedrick v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Merck Wins Federal Vioxx Trial in Tennessee, A Tennessee man's claim that the maker of the withdrawn painkiller Vioxx should be blamed for his 2003 heart attack was rejected Wednesday by a federal jury, the fourth victory for drug maker Merck & Co. in five federal trials. The seven-member jury answered "no" on a verdict questionnaire when asked if evidence showed that Merck failed to adequately warn Anthony Dedrick's doctors of any known risk posed by Vioxx, or that the lack of such a warning was a cause of Dedrick's heart attack. Merck lawyers had attacked the credibility of Dedrick, 50, of Waynesboro, Tenn., who was seeking $200,000 from the company.
November 15, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuit News)
Mason v. Merck & Co., Inc. Verdict for Defense, New Orleans | A federal jury on Wednesday cleared Merck & Co. in the July 2003 heart attack suffered by a Utah bank credit manager who had taken the once-popular painkiller Vioxx for 10 1/2 months. Charles Laron "Ron" Mason, 64, of Salt Lake County, Utah, began taking Vioxx after years of taking anti-inflammatory drugs because of back pain. The case was the 11th to be tried and the fourth in federal court.
October 24, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuit News)
Vioxx Litigation Heating Up Again, New York | Litigation over Merck's withdrawn painkiller Vioxx is heating up again, even as one key case in Texas was dropped on Tuesday just two weeks before the trial was set to begin. The drug maker, which at last count faced 23,800 lawsuits from Vioxx users, is scheduled to go to trial in two separate cases next week -- one a federal case in New Orleans filed by a man who blames Vioxx for his 2003 heart attack, the other a trial in a California state court in Los Angeles involving two former Vioxx users who also suffered heart problems.
October 6, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuit News)
Vioxx Patients from UK Lose US Court Bid, New Jersey | Hundreds of British patients who claim they had heart attacks after taking the drug Vioxx have lost the right to fight for compensation in the US. A New Jersey court ruled the patients must challenge the US pharmaceutical company Merck in the UK courts.
October 4, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuit News)
Merck Likely to Face 40,000 Vioxx Claims, New Hampshire | Merck & Co. will face a total of about 40,000 claims over its withdrawn Vioxx painkiller once deadlines for filing lawsuits lapse around the U.S., court records and lawyer estimates show. Most suits over the drug have been filed in state courts in New Jersey and California or are being managed by a federal judge in New Orleans. Merck faced a total of 29,464 claims in those courts just before a Sept. 30 deadline, records show. The remaining 10,000 suits have been or will be filed in jurisdictions with later deadlines, according to lawyers involved with the cases.
September 27, 2006 (VIOXX News | Smith v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Federal Jury Rules in Favor of Merck, New Orleans, LA | Merck & Co. Inc. scored another legal victory in a string of state and federal cases over the painkiller Vioxx. But the win -- handed down by a federal jury Tuesday -- essentially evens the scorecard, with five wins, four losses for the company and a sixth win overturned and headed to retrial. There are thousands more still pending. The jury, following a two-week trial, took just three hours to determine there wasn't enough evidence to link Vioxx to a Kentucky man's heart attack in 2003. Robert Garry Smith had claimed he'd taken the drug for knee pain for about 4 1/2 months but didn't realize at the time of his heart attack that Vioxx may have been a cause for concern.
September 26, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuit Trial News | Smith v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Merck Wins Vioxx Trial but Will Likely Face Much Tougher Cases in Future, New Orleans, LA | A federal jury in New Orleans ruled in favor of Merck in the latest Vioxx trial. The plaintiff, Robert Garry Smith, 56, filed suit against Merck claiming that Vioxx contributed to a heart attack he had 3 1/2 years ago. Mr. Smith took Vioxx for 4 ½ months for knee pain. While the victory is certainly good news for Merck, some plaintiff lawyers believe this case was not one of the strongest against Merck. These attorneys believe that the company's toughest days in court are still many months away.
September 21, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuit Trial News | Ernst v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Merck appeals $253 Million Vioxx Verdict in Texas VIOXX Case, Vioxx maker Merck is appealing its more than 253 (M) million dollar judgment awarded last year by a jury in Angleton, Texas. New Jersey-based Merck this week filed a notice of appeal in the case of Robert Ernst, who died in 2001. A company statement says Merck, in part, will argue that there was insufficient evidence that Ernst suffered an injury due to the Vioxx pain medication.
September 1, 2006 (VIOXX News | Garza v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
New Developments May Change Verdict in Texas Vioxx Trial, RIO GRANDE CITY, TX | Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. is hoping a Starr County judge will throw out a multi-million verdict in a Vioxx trial here because of a business relationship between the case’s plaintiff and one of its jurors. The drug company has filed a request to examine bank and phone records of juror Jose Rios and Felicia Garza, whose husband, Leonel Garza, died of a heart attack in 2004 while he was taking the painkiller. A Rio Grande City jury awarded Garza’s family $32 million in damages in April.
August 31, 2006 (VIOXX News | Barnett v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Judge Calls for New Trial in VIOXX Case | NEW ORLEANS | A federal judge has taken some of the sting out of a recent legal defeat that Merck & Co. suffered over its withdrawn painkiller, Vioxx. The $50 million compensatory damage award a jury voted for on Aug. 17 was "grossly excessive," U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon ruled Wednesday. He said a new trial must be held to decide how much the manufacturer must pay a retired FBI agent who suffered a 2002 heart attack after taking the once-popular painkiller for 2 1/2 years.
August 30, 2006 (VIOXX News | Barnett v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Judge Calls for New Trial in Vioxx Case | NEW ORLEANS | A federal judge ruled that a new trial must be held on damages for man who had heart attack after taking Vioxx. 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 Wednesday.
August 30, 2006 (VIOXX News | Barnett v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Judge Overturns VIOXX Award against Merck |
NEW ORLEANS | A federal judge overturned a $50 million award handed down by a jury against Merck & Co. Inc. earlier this month in a case of a former FBI agent who had blamed the withdrawn painkiller Vioxx for his heart attack. In a written ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon did not dispute the jury's finding that Merck knowingly misrepresented or failed to disclose a material fact regarding Vioxx safety to the plaintiff's physician, but ordered a new trial to determine the financial damages."The Court finds that the $50 million compensatory damages award is excessive under any conceivable substantive standard of excessiveness," Fallon in his ruling.
The jury on August 17 awarded 62-year-old Gerald Barnett $50 million in compensatory damages and another $1 million in punitive damages.
August 18, 2006 (VIOXX News | Barnett v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Jury awards $51 million in Vioxx case, Merck win in another lawsuit is overturned, Merck & Co. suffered two setbacks Thursday that could complicate the company's fight against a mountain of lawsuits seeking damages over use of the drugmaker's prescription painkiller Vioxx. Thursday morning a federal jury in New Orleans determined that the drug giant should pay $51 million to a former FBI agent who claimed the painkiller caused his heart attack. Not long after, a New Jersey state court judge threw out a victory the company won in November.
August 18, 2006 (VIOXX News | Humeston v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Judge vacates jury win for Merck in Vioxx case involving Boise man, The Merck pharmaceutical company says it may appeal a ruling yesterday that threw out its victory in a lawsuit filed by an Idaho man who had a heart attack while using the company's Vioxx pain medicine. Fred Humeston talks with reporters outside a New Jersey courtroom after losing his fight against Merck & Co. A state judge in New Jersey ordered a new trial for Frederick "Mike" Humeston of Boise, a postal worker who blamed his 2001 heart attack on taking Vioxx for two months. A jury in Atlantic City last November found Merck provided adequate warning of risks linked to Vioxx.
August 18, 2006 (VIOXX News | VIOXX Research & Studies)
Merck Suffers 2 Vioxx Lawsuit Setbacks in New Orleans and New Jersey, The judicial system offered Merck & Co. a double dose of bad news. A federal jury in New Orleans on Thursday ordered the drug maker to pay $51 million to a heart attack victim - the company's first loss at the federal level - the same day a state judge in New Jersey overturned a November verdict favoring Merck.
In New Orleans, the jury found that Merck "knowingly misrepresented or failed to disclose" information about Vioxx to retired FBI agent Gerald Barnett's doctors. It said Barnett, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., should get $50 million in compensatory damages. And it added $1 million in punitive damages, saying Merck "acted in wanton, malicious, willful or reckless disregard for the plaintiff's rights."
August 17, 2006 (VIOXX News | VIOXX Research & Studies)
Merck Must Pay $51 Million in Vioxx Case, New Trial Granted in Another, Merck & Co., suffered two legal setbacks today after a jury said the company must pay $51 million to a retiree who claimed its Vioxx painkiller caused his heart attack and a judge ordered a new trial for a man who lost his case over the drug last year. A former FBI agent, Gerald Barnett, 62, claimed Vioxx caused his 2002 heart attack in a suit tried in New Orleans federal court. The verdict may make it harder for Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, to fight every one of more than 16,000 lawsuits it still faces, as it said it plans to do.
August 6, 2006 (VIOXX News | Barnett v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Chicago defense lawyer Phil Beck is Merck's hired gun in New Orleans VIOXX case and others, Merck has budgeted $1 billion for battles against claims of injury from its painkiller Vioxx, and leading those fights in federal courts is Chicago lawyer Phil Beck. If Merck & Co. is ever going to have to pay tens of billions of dollars in damages over its painkiller Vioxx, plaintiffs' attorneys are first going to have to get past Phil Beck. Merck tapped the Chicago trial lawyer to steer it through nearly 6,000 federal lawsuits consolidated in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. So far Beck has won one key federal trial.
August 3, 2006 (VIOXX News | Grossberg v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
LA jury finds Vioxx maker not liable for California man's health problems, A California jury on Wednesday cleared pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. of liability in the case of an elderly man who claimed his heart ailments were caused by the drug maker's once-popular painkiller Vioxx. After deliberating for about five hours in California's first trial over the drug, the 12-person jury determined that Merck was not negligent, did not conceal information and that Vioxx did not cause Stewart Grossberg's health problems.
August 2, 2006 (VIOXX News | Grossberg v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Jury: Vioxx Maker Merck Not Liable For California Man's Heart Attack and Angina, A Superior Court jury on Wednesday rejected a Northridge man's claims that his 2001 heart attack was caused by taking the prescription drug Vioxx. Jurors deliberated for about five hours before determining that Vioxx-maker Merck and Co. was not negligent in its marketing of Vioxx, did not put the drug's users in danger and did not withhold important facts from prescribing physicians. Stewart Grossberg claimed he had been taking the drug for more than two years when he suffered the heart attack at age 66.
August 1, 2006 (VIOXX News | Barnett v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Opening arguments begin in New Orleans VIOXX trial, The second federal plaintiff to claim that the painkiller Vioxx caused a heart attack is Gerald Barnett, a fit retired FBI agent who watched his diet, exercised regularly and was a model patient, his lawyer says. Gerald Barnett also is the son of a man who died of a heart attack, and had himself been regularly warned after his FBI physicals to get his cholesterol levels down, an attorney for manufacturer Merck & Co. countered. Barnett, 62, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., is among thousands of plaintiffs claiming that the drug, which was bringing in $2.5 billion a year for Merck at its height, caused a heart attack, and that Merck hid its dangers.
July 5, 2006 (VIOXX News | Grossberg v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Witness says studies showed Vioxx users at risk of heart ailments, Patients who took the painkiller Vioxx were at risk of heart attacks and stroke - something shown by studies conducted years before the product went on the market, a doctor testified Wednesday. Dr. Lemuel Moye, a physician and professor of biostatistics at the University of Texas, took the witness stand as the first Vioxx liability trial in California entered its second week. Moye concluded the painkiller carried more risk than benefits to patients after he reviewed clinical trials conducted by Vioxx maker Merck & Co. dating back to 1996.
June 29, 2006 (VIOXX News | Grossberg v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Testimony: Feds not told about tests that exposed Vioxx dangers, Merck & Co. did not inform federal authorities about two clinical trials in which users of the painkiller Vioxx were more likely to die than people given a placebo, jurors in the first Vioxx liability case to go to trial in California were told Wednesday. Dr. Edward Scolnick, the former head of Merck & Co.'s research laboratories, said in a videotaped deposition that he did not believe the numbers were coincidental. "It's not likely due to chance," he said. Scolnick's testimony was shown to jurors on the second day of Stewart Grossberg's products liability lawsuit against Merck. The 71-year-old plaintiff alleges the painkiller caused him to have a heart attack in 2001 and that Merck & Co. marketed it without warning consumers of its potential problems.
June 27, 2006 (VIOXX News | VIOXX Research & Studies)
Lawyers Like Vioxx Correction, Lawyers who lost their Vioxx cases said Tuesday they see new ammunition in their fights to win new trials now that a prominent medical journal has contradicted a key defense used by Merck & Co. On Monday, the New England Journal of Medicine issued a correction which reversed an article's claim that Vioxx elevated the risk of cardiovascular problems only after 18 months of use. However, the correction didn't state when the increased risk would begin.
June 26, 2006 (VIOXX News | VIOXX Research & Studies)
Journal Corrects Vioxx Article to Reflect Short-Term Heart Risk, More than a month after news surfaced that Vioxx might cause cardiovascular side effects before the 18 months originally cited in an influential 2005 study, the New England Journal of Medicine on Monday issued a formal correction to its article on the study to reflect the new information. "This correction retracts the claim that there is an 18-month delay before patients experience an increased risk while taking Vioxx," said Dr. Steven Nissen, interim chairman of the department of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, and the author of a related letter, also released Monday by the journal. The original article outlining the results of the APPROVe study, which was funded by Vioxx' maker, Merck & Co., appeared in the March 17, 2005, issue of NEJM. Early data from the APPROVe trial prompted Merck -- in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- to pull Vioxx from the market in September 2004.
June 21, 2006 (VIOXX News | Grossberg v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Jury selection begins in first Vioxx suit to go to trial in California, Jury selection began today in Los Angeles in a lawsuit by a Southern California man who claims he suffered a heart attack after taking the painkiller Vioxx. Stewart Grossberg's is one of more than 13-thousand such claims brought nationwide against drug maker Merck and Company. Grossberg, claims he took Vioxx for more than two years before he had a heart attack at 66. His case is the first to go to trial in California and one of some two-thousand filed in the state and consolidated in Los Angeles Superior Court by Judge Victoria Chaney.
June 16, 2006 (VIOXX News | VIOXX Research & Studies)
Prominent doctor who criticized Merck deposed for Vioxx trials, A prominent physician at Stanford University Medical Center, who accused Merck & Co. of infringing on academic discourse by trying to stifle and intimidate doctors it considered critics, was being deposed on Friday after being subpoenaed by the plaintiff lawyers. Dr. James F. Fries expressed his concerns about Merck's behavior, including suppressing Vioxx data, to the company's then-chief executive, Raymond Gilmartin, in a letter dated Jan. 9, 2001. He wrote that Merck has been trying to "systematically downplay some unusual side effect patterns of Vioxx" and that its employees have "systematically attacked those investigators or speakers who expressed what Merck staff felt were critical opinions in a manner which seriously impinges on academic freedoms.
June 11, 2006 (VIOXX News | VIOXX Research & Studies)
Top VIOXX Attorney Succumbs to Ovarian Cancer, Carlene Lewis, a member of the Houston legal team that won a $253.45 million jury verdict against Merck & Co. in the death of a Texan who used the painkiller Vioxx, died Monday of ovarian cancer. She was 51. The Vioxx case "probably was the capstone of her career," said Lewis' law partner Daniel Goforth, who called her a "pioneer" in investigating the safety of Vioxx, which was pulled from the market in 2004. The 2005 verdict in the case handled by Lewis' team was the first among thousands of Vioxx-related lawsuits that have been filed against Merck.
June 5, 2006 (VIOXX News | Doherty v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Grandmother takes on Merck in Vioxx trial, Drug maker Merck & Co. repeatedly tried to downplay the cardiac risks of its painkiller Vioxx, so user Elaine Doherty didn't know about them and couldn't control them before she suffered a heart attack after taking the drug, her lawyer told jurors as a product liability trial began Monday. Doherty, a diabetic grandmother of seven who was taking Vioxx for arthritis, blames her January 2004 heart attack on the drug. Merck withdrew Vioxx from the market on Sept. 30, 2004, saying its own research showed it doubled risk of heart attack and stroke after 18 months' use.
June 5, 2006 (VIOXX News | Doherty v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Latest VIOXX lawsuit trial hinges on warning, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. —Drug maker Merck & Co. repeatedly tried to downplay the cardiac risks of its painkiller Vioxx, so user Elaine Doherty didn't know about them before she suffered a heart attack after taking the drug, her lawyer told jurors Monday in the latest of the series of product liability cases against the drug's maker. Merck, which now faces more than 13,000 Vioxx-related lawsuits over its one-time $2.5 billion-a-year blockbuster, has vowed to fight them one by one. Merck has lost three trials so far, with juries awarding multimillion-dollar verdicts in each. The company plans to appeal those losses.
June 2, 2006 (VIOXX News | Doherty v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Jury chosen for next VIOXX trial in N.J., A jury of five women and five men was selected Friday in Atlantic City for the seventh trial against drugmaker Merck & Co. over its withdrawn arthritis drug VIOXX. Opening statements were set to begin Monday morning in New Jersey Superior Court in the case of Elaine Doherty, 68, who alleges VIOXX caused her heart attack and subsequent double heart bypass surgery in January 2004.
May 31, 2006 (VIOXX News | VIOXX Research & Studies)
FDA VIOXX Whistleblower Says Agency Smeared Him Over His Vioxx Views, A U.S. Food and Drug Administration VIOXX whistleblower who claimed Merck & Co.'s Vioxx painkiller caused 140,000 heart attacks and strokes testified that co-workers at his agency tried to damage his reputation. "I experienced threats, intimidation and actually what, in my view, appears to have been a very organized and orchestrated campaign to smear and discredit me," Dr. David Graham said in a May 9 videotaped testimony taken for Vioxx litigation. FDA officials worked "hand in glove"' with Merck to tarnish him, Graham said according to a sealed transcript of his remarks obtained by Bloomberg News.
May 30, 2006 (VIOXX News | VIOXX Research & Studies)
Vioxx Study Doctors to Publish New Data, Doctors who oversaw the study that led to the painkiller VIOXX being pulled from the market, spawning thousands of lawsuits, are planning a detailed analysis and publication of new data that calls into question the heart of VIOXX maker Merck & Co.'s legal strategy. Merck, which faces more than 11,500 lawsuits over its one-time blockbuster arthritis drug, VIOXX, has consistently argued that VIOXX only increased cardiac risks after patients took it for 18 months.
May 30, 2006 (VIOXX News | VIOXX Research & Studies)
Merck issues correction on Vioxx study, VIOXX maker Merck & Co. issued a correction for a key study of its now-recalled pain reliever VIOXX after the market closed Tuesday, asserting that the change does not alter the study's conclusions about VIOXX. In a statement, Merck said that it was altering language in a VIOXX study called Approve that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2005. The company said that the VIOXX study's authors plan to send a correction to the well-known medical periodical.
May 30, 2006 (VIOXX News | VIOXX Research & Studies)VIOXX Experts say patients, doctors need clearer VIOXX data, When it comes to drug safety, U.S. patients and doctors need less advertising hype and more data to help decide whether to use prescription medicines, health researchers said on Tuesday. A panel of behavior experts, statisticians and other scientists said the Food and Drug Administration should consider simpler information on risks and benefits, such as a chart listing basic facts and how new drugs compare to older ones. Drug advertisements in particular should be toned down so patients can make rational choices, several experts said. Often they make broad claims without proper data, they said.
May 26, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuits | Dever Colorado)
19 Vioxx-related lawsuits filed in Denver, Nineteen Colorado residents filed federal lawsuits this week against the maker of the painkiller Vioxx, claiming the drug has caused injuries including heart attack and stroke. The suits were filed in U.S. District court against Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck & Co. Inc., which has faced six separate trials around the country and has more than 11,500 lawsuits pending, the company has said. Most recently, a Texas jury last month found Merck liable for the death of a 71-year-old man who suffered a heart attack after taking Vioxx for one month.
May 19, 2006 (VIOXX News | VIOXX Research & Studies) Vioxx Danger May Start Early and Last Long After Discontinued Use - Merck Disagrees With Interpretation - FDA Pos. Permanent Damage
There appears to be more bad news for Merck & Co. after a Canadian Medical Association Journal said the drug may raise the risk of heart attack for patients who took Vioxx for less than 2 weeks. Investigative journalist Evelyn Pringle reports that the study published online this month, found that more than 25% of 239 patients who had heart attacks did so in less than 13 days of being on the drug.
May 9, 2006 (VIOXX News | VIOXX Research | VIOXX Studies)
Vioxx Starts Adversely Affecting Patients After 4 Months, Not 18 Months, Merck had initially claimed that Vioxx begins to have adverse effects on the cardiovascular system after 18 months' use, but data the company submitted to the FDA last week shows this starts to happen after just 4 months, according to the Wall Street Journal. Dr. Eric Topol, who authored 16 articles on Vioxx and was behind the move to investigate the drug, says there has never been any data to back the theory that adverse effects started after 18 months' use.
May 3, 2006 (VIOXX News | VIOXX Research | VIOXX Studies)
Study: Even short-term Vioxx use carries heart attack risk for elderly, A lawyer said Wednesday that more lawsuits may be brought against the maker of the painkiller Vioxx in light of a new study suggesting that the risk of a heart attack in elderly users of Vioxx occurs sooner after starting the medication than previously thought.
May 2, 2006 (VIOXX News | VIOXX Research | VIOXX Studies)
Vioxx risks can occur within 2 weeks-Canada study, The risk of taking the painkiller Vioxx is more acute than previously thought according to research published online on Tuesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. A quarter of patients who suffered a heart attack did so within the first two weeks of taking their first Vioxx prescription, a McGill University Health Center study revealed. "The additional cardiovascular risk from Vioxx actually decreased with longer duration of Vioxx use, suggesting that the period of highest susceptibility for most people taking Vioxx may occur earlier than previously believed," said Linda Levesque, the lead author of the Vioxx study.
May 2, 2006 (VIOXX News | VIOXX Research | VIOXX Studies)
New Vioxx study contradicts key Merck defence, A new study of Canadian health records found that first-time users of Merck's withdrawn painkiller Vioxx had the highest risk of heart attack after only two weeks, delivering a blow to the US drugmaker's litigation defences. Merck faces a wave of litigation after it withdrew Vioxx from the market in September 2004, when a company study found increased heart risks after 18 months' usage. A quarter of 239 Vioxx users who had a heart attack experienced it between six and 13 days from their first prescription, according to the study to be published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).
April 22, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuits | Rio Grande City, Texas | Garza v. Merck)
Jury Awards $32 Million to Family of VIOXX Heart Attack Wrongful Death Victim, A Texas jury awarded $32 million to a family on Friday in a lawsuit claiming Merck & Co.'s Vioxx painkiller caused a 71-year-old man's fatal heart attack, an amount likely to be cut under state law. State court jurors in the border town of Rio Grande City found Vioxx was a cause of the death of Leonel Garza in April 2001 and that Merck failed to warn of the risks of Vioxx before he started taking the painkiller.
April 21, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuits | Rio Grande City, Texas | Garza v. Merck)
Texas Jury Awards $32 Million in VIOXX Hearth Attack Wrongful Death Case, A Texas jury on Friday found that painkiller Vioxx caused the death of 71-year-old Leonel Garza and awarded $7 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages to his family. The verdict against Vioxx maker Merck & Co. Inc. came in the latest lawsuit charging that the company did not disclose for several years that Vioxx caused an increased risk of heart attacks.
April 20, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuits | Rio Grande City, Texas | Garza v. Merck)
Texas plaintiffs seek over $1 billion damages in Vioxx case, Attorneys suing Merck & Co. Inc. for the death of Mr. Leonel Garza, a 71-year-old man who took Vioxx asked a Texas jury on Thursday to award more than $1 billion in damages, but Merck lawyers said the pharmaceuticals company should not have to pay anything. The damage request includes $22 million for mental anguish and personal loss and $1 billion in punitive damages, which punish a defendant for wrong behavior.
April 19, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuits | Rio Grande City, Texas | Garza v. Merck
Closing Arguments Set in South Texas Vioxx Trial, RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas — A jury in South Texas is to hear closing arguments Wednesday in another of the almost 10,000 lawsuits alleging Merck & Co. was responsible for heart attacks in people taking its painkiller Vioxx. Of the five cases decided in the country so far, Merck has won three and lost two. In the two losses, the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company was ordered to pay one plaintiff $253.4 million and the other $13.5 million.
April 15, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuits)
Study shows how painkillers like Vioxx raise heart risk, WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Painkillers called COX-2 inhibitors may increase the risk of heart attacks by raising blood pressure and making the blood more likely to clot, researchers said on Thursday. They do so by the same mechanisms that they use to reduce pain and inflammation, said University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researcher Dr. Garret FitzGerald, who led the study.
April 12, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Former Vioxx User Gets $13.5M in Damages, To Carla Tennyson, the case against Merck & Co. and its Vioxx pill boiled down to one thing — coming clean. Tennyson was one of the jurors who slapped Merck with a $9 million punitive damage award Tuesday, concluding that the drug maker dragged its feet in notifying people about the risks of its blockbuster arthritis drug and modifying its product label once it knew about them.
April 11, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuits)
Chronology of Events Surrounding Vioxx, Key events involving the safety of Vioxx and other painkillers.
April 11, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Jury Awards $9 million punitive damages to Vioxx plaintiff, A jury awarded $9 million in punitive damages Tuesday to a man who blamed his heart attack on Vioxx, finding that manufacturer Merck & Co. knowingly withheld information about the risks of its arthritis drug from federal regulators.
April 10, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Vioxx Jurors Will Continue Deliberating about Punitive Damages in Heart Attack Case, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. Apr 10, 2006 (AP)— Jurors couldn't reach a verdict Monday on whether Merck & Co. should pay additional damages to a New Jersey man already awarded $4.5 million for a heart attack he blamed on the arthritis drug Vioxx.
April 8, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Among Vioxx lawyers, second banana comes out on top, When New Jersey's second Vioxx trial opened here last month, most eyes were on a baby-faced lawyer from Texas known for his loquacious, homespun delivery. After all, Mark Lanier was the man who won a $253 million verdict in the first Vioxx case last August. But this time around, it was a less flamboyant colleague who ultimately got the big prize. Robert J. Gordon, 49, a silver-haired attorney with a solid resume in product liability work, won a $4.5 million award for 77-year-old John McDarby, a wheelchair-bound diabetic from Park Ridge who, the jury said, suffered his 2004 heart attack as a result of taking Vioxx.
April 7, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Merck's Ex-CEO testifies in Vioxx trial, Raymond V. Gilmartin's appearance was his first in the lawsuits tried so far. He said he never knowingly hid safety data at Merck.
Gilmartin, former chief executive officer of Merck & Co. Inc., said that he never led Merck to favor profit over patients in decisions about Vioxx.
He coolly stood his ground against an accusatory lawyer and insisted he never knowingly masked safety data or led his company to favor profit over patients.
April 6, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Merck ex-CEO denies hiding Vioxx data from FDA, Merck & Co.'s former chief executive denied the company hid data on Vioxx from regulators as he took the stand on Thursday before a jury that will decide whether to award punitive damages to a man who said the painkiller caused his heart attack. On Wednesday, the jury awarded 77-year-old John McDarby $4.5 million dollars in compensatory damages. To award punitive damages under New Jersey law, the plaintiff's attorneys must prove that Merck misrepresented material information to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
April 5, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Merck Loses $4.5 Million Vioxx Verdict in New Jersey, April 5 (Bloomberg) -- Merck & Co. must pay at least $4.5 million to a 77-year-old man who claimed its painkiller Vioxx caused his heart attack and nothing to another plaintiff for the same claim, a New Jersey jury ruled.
March 24, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Merck Scientist Says She Felt `Sick' After Vioxx Study Results, A Merck & Co. scientist told jurors that she felt ``sick'' in 2000 after seeing clinical trial data showing that the company's arthritis drug Vioxx caused five times more heart attacks than another painkiller, naproxen. Alise Reicin, a Merck vice president who designed the so- called Vigor study, testified that she was initially surprised at the results. Merck, the No. 4 U.S. drugmaker, used Vigor to test whether Vioxx caused fewer stomach problems than naproxen. Twenty patients on Vioxx had heart attacks, compared with four on naproxen. Vioxx caused half the amount of stomach bleeding.
March 24, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
In the trenches of Vioxx legal fight, workday goes into night, Atlantic City, New Jersey - Thirty-six floors below, there are 3,510 slot machines, 177 table games and a world of temptation. For the legal eagles hunkered down in Room 3628 at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, though, gambling isn't on the docket. For weeks, lawyer Mark Lanier and his associates, paralegals and support staff have been spending nights in this hotel suite - plotting strategy, guessing at the enemy's next move, looking behind to look ahead. They call it the war room.
March 23, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Scientist: Merck did not hide Vioxx data, ATLANTIC CITY -- A scientist who helped develop the painkiller Vioxx yesterday rejected assertions by a plaintiff's lawyer that Merck & Co. tried to conceal from regulators unfavorable data about the popular arthritis drug's potential heart-safety problems. Dr. Briggs Morrison defended the company's handling of a 1995 clinical study that cited positive effects of so-called cox-2 inhibitors such as Vioxx on the body, saying the data were included in Merck's 1998 application to the Food and Drug Administration to sell Vioxx.
March 21, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Merck takes the offensive in Atlantic City, N.J., Vioxx trial, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- After two weeks on the defensive, Merck & Co. began presenting its side of the Vioxx story to a jury Tuesday, hoping to show that the popular arthritis drug was thoroughly tested before being sold and didn't cause the heart attacks suffered by two New Jersey men. Confident history wouldn't repeat itself, Merck's lawyers called as their first witness a company scientist whose testimony in a previous trial here was thrown out by an angry judge because it overstepped the bounds of restrictions she set in advance.
March 21, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Summary of Tuesday's developments in New Jersey Vioxx Case, TUESDAY'S DEVELOPMENTS: Merck's bid to end the trial before it goes to a jury failed when Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee rejected the company's motion for a directed verdict. Merck then began presenting its side of the case, beginning by calling Merck Research Laboratories vice president Dr. Briggs Morrison to testify. WHAT'S NEXT: Morrison returns to the stand Wednesday for more questioning by Merck attorney Mike Brock, followed by cross-examination by Cona's lawyer, Mark Lanier.
March 21, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Make or break time in Vioxx drama, Cases involving long-term users of Vioxx will, as Meredith Wadman reports, determine the true cost to Merck and the drug industry of the painkiller's withdrawal. In a trial that opened on 6 March in Atlantic City, New Jersey, lawyers led by a charismatic Texan are trying to convince a jury that Merck's blockbuster painkiller caused heart attacks in two allegedly long-term users. It is the first time that the company has confronted plaintiffs who have taken the drug for more than 18 months — the period after which, according to the study that led Merck to pull the drug in September 2004, Vioxx boosts the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
March 18, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Vioxx plaintiff still in danger, doctor says, ATLANTIC CITY -- A 77-year-old Park Ridge man who blames a heart attack on Merck & Co.'s Vioxx painkiller is in poor health and his heart could fail at any time, a cardiologist told a jury Friday in Atlantic City. "His prognosis is terrible," said Dr. Nicholas DePace of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. "Morbidity and mortality-wise, he's in pretty bad shape."
March 17, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Yale University Medical Professor Sees Short-Term Use of Vioxx as Risk, ATLANTIC CITY -- Testifying on behalf of a man suing Merck & Co. over its painkiller Vioxx, a cardiologist told a jury Thursday that the drug can increase the risk of heart attacks even in short-term use. Striking at the heart of Merck's defense, Yale University Professor Harlan Krumholz said a person need not take the drug for 18 months or more to face higher risks of heart attack and stroke. "It's associated with risk, and I do not believe that risk is time-dependent," said Krumholz, an expert in cardiology and epidemiology who testified on behalf of plaintiff Thomas Cona, a 59-year-old Cherry Hill businessman who was stricken almost two years after he first took the drug for back pain.
March 15, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Second juror excused in NJ Vioxx trial, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A juror whose father's name was mentioned during testimony has been dismissed from the panel considering a case filed by two men who blame the painkiller Vioxx for their heart attacks. The panel, which originally had 10 people, is now down to eight _ six of whom will serve as jurors, the other two as alternates once deliberations in the lawsuit against Merck & Co. begin. Another woman was excused earlier after pleading financial hardship.
March 15, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Merck Omitted `Critically Important' Data on Vioxx, Doctor Says, Merck & Co. withheld ``critically important'' data about the painkiller Vioxx when it omitted three heart attacks from a study on the drug's safety, a Yale University cardiologist testified. ``It's important for us to have all the information,'' Dr. Harlan Krumholz told jurors today in state court in Atlantic City, New Jersey. ``Scientists and physicians depend on that information to make our choices.''
March 14, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Merck Judge Dismisses Vioxx Juror After Questions, A New Jersey judge in charge of a trial over Merck & Co.'s Vioxx painkiller dismissed a second juror, a day after an attorney questioned a witness about the woman's father. The lawyer, Mark Lanier, represents Thomas Cona, 59, who blames Vioxx for his 2003 heart attack. Lanier yesterday asked Cona's wife, Joyce, a teacher in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, if she knew a former school principal, John Carusi. His daughter, juror Lynne Carusi, sent a note to Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee and was dismissed today after a private interview.
March 13, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Highlights of Atlantic City, N.J., trial over arthritis drug Vioxx, Thomas Cona, 59, of Cherry Hill, and John McDarby, 77, of Park Ridge, blame their heart attacks on the pain reliever Vioxx and are suing manufacturer Merck & Co. The case, which is among more than 9,650 lawsuits filed over the now-withdrawn arthritis painkiller, is the first of six trials to involve former Vioxx users who say they took it for more than 18 months. Merck pulled it off the market in September 2004 after a study linked it to heart attacks and strokes, but the company maintains that Cona and McDarby had health problems that could have caused the heart attacks and that Vioxx can't be proven as the cause.
March 13, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Plaintiff tells court he didn't know of Vioxx risk, A second plaintiff took the witness stand in the latest product liability trial against Merck & Co. (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday and told the court he would not have taken Vioxx if he had known there were heart risks associated with the arthritis medicine. John McDarby, 77, who blames Vioxx for his 2004 heart attack, was pushed to the witness stand in a wheelchair and had difficulty moving into the witness chair before the jury in New Jersey Superior Court. Speaking slowly and sometimes indistinctly, the frail McDarby told the jury that he started taking Vioxx for arthritis pain in March 2000 and took it every day for more than four years until his heart attack on April 15, 2004.
March 10, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
FRIDAY'S DEVELOPMENTS: Plaintiff Thomas Cona testified about the day he was stricken and the impact his heart attack has had on his life. He acknowledged under cross-examination that his medical records don't support his claim he took Vioxx for three years. Cona's lawyer says free samples given to Cona by his doctors accounted for most of his Vioxx use.
March 10, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Plaintiff Takes Stand in Vioxx Trial, A man who blames Vioxx for his heart attack took the stand in his lawsuit against Merck & Co. on Friday, acknowledging that medical records don't support his claim that he took the drug for two years or more. Thomas Cona, 59, of Cherry Hill, also said he continued taking the drug for more than a year after his June 9, 2003, heart attack, even though he said in a court filing associated with his case that he stopped three months later.
March 8, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Vioxx video may aid plaintiffs, A jury hearing a Vioxx product liability case got its first look Tuesday at e-mail messages, internal documents and other materials showing manufacturer Merck & Co. was concerned about the drug's potential for causing heart attacks long before taking it off the market.
March 8, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Merck disclosed Vioxx heart risks, court told, Merck & Co. Inc. disclosed a report showing that its pain drug Vioxx had heart attack risks and did not try to hide results that could have hurt sales, the company's former head of marketing told a New Jersey state court on Wednesday.
March 7, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Lawyers: Merck Concealed Vioxx Dangers, At Start of Latest Vioxx Trial, Merck and Opponent Stake Familiar Turf, ATLANTIC CITY, Back in its home court, Merck & Co. staked out familiar turf as another Vioxx trial got under way, its lead attorney telling jurors the company adequately investigated the drug's safety and asserting it was heart disease and other ailments not Vioxx that led to two former users' heart attacks.
March 7, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Merck rushed Vioxx development, court told, ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey - Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) accelerated development of its Vioxx pain drug because it calculated it could lose more than $600 million a year if it did not beat competitors to market, a court heard on Tuesday. David Anstice, Merck's former president of human health, told jurors in the latest Vioxx liability trial that Merck was concerned profits would fall if it did not compete effectively with Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) similar arthritis drug Celebrex. "We were working very diligently and aggressively to get Vioxx to market as quickly as possible," Anstice said in state court in Atlantic City, New Jersey, under questioning from Mark Lanier, an attorney for a man who blames Vioxx for his 2003 heart attack.
March 6, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | McDarby v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Summary Box: Vioxx trial begins in Atlantic City, THE CASE: Two men who blame their heart attacks on the pain reliever Vioxx are suing its manufacturer, Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck and Co. The case is among more than 9,650 lawsuits over Vioxx have been filed in state and federal courts. OPENING STATEMENTS: Lawyers for the two plaintiffs _ whose cases are being tried as one _ said Merck knew about risks posed by its blockbuster arthritis drug and that company executives concealed and downplayed them. Merck's lawyer said the company diligently tested Vioxx _ before and after it went to market _ and that the two men suing in this case both were at risk for heart attacks before they ever took it. WHAT'S NEXT: The trial resumes Tuesday, with David W. Anstice, Merck's chief marketing and sales executive, to be questioned by plaintiffs' lawyers, followed by Merck's lead attorney.
March 3, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | Cona v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Length of time using Vioxx seen key in Merck trial, Opening arguments in the next Vioxx liability trial start on Monday as Merck & Co. faces the lone lawyer who has beaten the company in one of these cases — this time representing two long-term users of the painkiller who say it caused their heart attacks. So far, two juries have found Merck not liable, while Mark Lanier, a flamboyant Texas lawyer, helped secure a $253 million judgment for the widow of a Vioxx user last August.
March 2, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | Cona v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Next trial over Vioxx may be Merck & Co's toughest yet, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- After two victories in a row, Merck & Co. faces its toughest courtroom test yet in the legal wars over Vioxx next week, squaring off against the only lawyer to beat the drug maker in such a case and two long-term Vioxx users who appear to have science on their side. The outcome of the trial, experts say, could chart the course for thousands of future Vioxx cases. Another Merck victory could have a chilling effect on some of the approximately 9,650 Vioxx cases pending against the maker of the blockbuster arthritis drug that was taken off the market in 2004 after a study linked it to increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. A Merck loss, on the other hand, could cause the Whitehouse Station-based company to rethink its plan to try the cases one by one rather than offer settlements.
February 28, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | Cona v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
$253 million verdict Vioxx lawsuit lawyer Lanier takes on Merck again,
Mark Lanier, the only lawyer to defeat Merck in a Vioxx lawsuit, faces drug maker in its home state of N.J. Mark Lanier, the only lawyer so far to defeat Merck in a Vioxx-related lawsuit, will face off with the drug maker again, but this time Merck has the home field in New Jersey and Lanier will be representing a heart attack survivor, not a widow. Lawyers on both sides will be reined in by clocks with punch-button timers of the type used by professional chess players to keep the game moving, just in case they're feeling gregarious. Lawyers from both sides agreed to the idea, with five additional hours allotted to the plaintiffs to help them build their cases.
February 25, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Trials | Cona v. Merck & Co., Inc.)
Next Vioxx trial to be a model of swift justice, The wheels of justice will spin a little faster at the next Vioxx trial. A pair of chess clocks will see to that. Determined to keep it short, lawyers for Merck & Co. and two men suing the painkiller's manufacturer have agreed to time limits on testimony and will use tabletop clocks -- activated manually, each time one side or the other puts a witness on the stand -- to keep track.
February 22, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuits | Merck & Co., Inc.)
What Merck knew about Vioxx risks, when: New revelations, The New England Journal of Medicine released internal Merck memos indicating that Merck knew more about cardiovascular problems caused by Vioxx than it revealed when it published a giant study of the drug in 2000. The release of the memos comes as part of an escalating battle over whether Merck (nyse: MRK - news - people ) and its collaborators acted appropriately when they published an 8,000-patient study of Vioxx, the first study to indicate that Vioxx might cause heart attacks.
February 21, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuits | Merck & Co., Inc.)
Merck long-term Vioxx users' lawsuits seen as more difficult to defend, Merck & Co. Inc.'s victory in the first federal case over its recalled painkiller Vioxx may be short-lived, as investors look to bigger legal hurdles ahead, analysts said. On Friday, a federal jury found the drugmaker was not liable in the 2001 death of a Florida man who had used Vioxx for less than a month. Analysts said it would have been a huge loss if Merck failed to win the case, the first in a federal court and the third of more about 9,600 cases filed against Merck in U.S. and state courts claiming the company hid health risks of the once-best-selling painkiller.
February 17, 2006 (Federal Vioxx Retrial in New Orleans | Richard "Dickie" Irvin)
Federal Vioxx jury says Merck not liable in death, A federal jury said on Friday that drugmaker Merck Co. Inc. was not liable in the 2001 death of a Florida man who used the recalled painkiller Vioxx. The eight-person jury's verdict was the first in a federal court and the third out of more than 9,000 cases filed against Merck in U.S. and state courts claiming the company hid the once-best-selling painkiller's health risks. Specifically, the jury found Vioxx was not a defective product, that Merck was neither negligent in making the product nor did it fail to warn users of its risks.
February 9, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuits | Merck & Co., Inc.)
Vioxx Critic Denies Being Courted, Well-Known Vioxx Critic Denies Being Courted As Consultant by Vioxx Attorney Mark Lanier, NEW ORLEANS — A prominent cardiologist and major plaintiff witness in the first federal Vioxx trial denied Thursday that he is being courted as a litigation consultant by the attorney he has hired a Texas lawyer leading numerous Vioxx lawsuits. An attorney for drug maker Merck & Co. told a federal judge Wednesday that Dr. Eric J. Topol had left the Cleveland Clinic and retained Mark Lanier of Houston to represent him in that departure, and that Lanier was trying to get Topol as a plaintiffs' consultant.
February 7, 2006 (Federal Vioxx Retrial in New Orleans - Richard "Dickie" Irvin)
Plaintiff attorneys change approach in first federal Vioxx case, NEW ORLEANS -- Lawyers switched legal tactics for the retrial of the first federal Vioxx case, working to convince jurors that manufacturer Merck & Co. ignored safety in favor of sales, rather than opening with medical testimony. That approach is much closer to an earlier trial in a Texas state court, in which jurors decided Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck should pay $253.4 million, than to the original federal trial. The federal trial ended with a hung jury; jurors reached afterward said the deadlock was 8-1 in Merck's favor.
Evelyn Irvin Plunkett claims that taking Vioxx for a month caused the heart attack which killed her husband Richard "Dickie" Irvin in 2001, and that Merck hid the dangers of its product from scientists and the public.
February 6, 2006 (Federal Vioxx Retrial in New Orleans - Richard "Dickie" Irvin)
Merck Rushed Unsafe Vioxx to Market, Lawyer Argues in Federal Vioxx Case Retrial, NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Merck & Co. Inc. rushed the painkiller Vioxx to market despite knowing its potential health dangers, an attorney said on Monday in opening arguments of the latest lawsuit charging that the popular drug caused someone to die. Merck's lawyer countered that heart disease, not Vioxx, killed Richard Irvin, a 53-year-old Floridian who died in 2001 after taking the drug for less than a month. The arguments came in the retrial of a case that ended in a mistrial in December when one member of a nine-person jury felt Merck was liable for the death and a unanimous verdict could not be reached.
February 5, 2006 (Federal Vioxx Retrial in New Orleans - Richard "Dickie" Irvin)
Medical Journal's article is a wild card in federal Vioxx retrial, NEW ORLEANS -- A New England Journal of Medicine criticism of a study cited in Vioxx lawsuits is expected to play a part in the retrial of the first federal Vioxx lawsuit _ but it's not clear if it will be a legal hand grenade or a nuclear warhead. The disclosure that some negative data was omitted from the study could make manufacturer Merck & Co. look as if it's hiding something, legal experts say. That is what attorneys for Evelyn Irvin Plunkett, whose husband died after taking the drug for a month, say they can prove in the trial starting Monday.
The first federal trial _ held in Houston in the wake of Hurricane Katrina _ ended with a deadlock. Two jurors said the split was 8-1 in favor of Merck's contention that taking Vioxx had nothing to do with the death of Richard "Dickie" Irvin. The day those deliberations began, the New England Journal of Medicine published criticism _ one step short of retracting the study _ accusing its authors of withholding and deleting relevant data. The information alone is "damaging although not shattering," but its implications could be devastating, Northwestern University law professor Ronald Allen said.
January 31, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuits | Merck & Co., Inc.)
Former Merck CEO agrees to testify at N.J. Vioxx trial, Former Merck & Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Raymond Gilmartin has agreed to a plaintiff lawyers' request that he testify at a Vioxx trial slated to begin in Atlantic City in late February, both sides said. Plaintiff lawyer Mark Lanier said he requested Gilmartin's presence and intends to call him because "when you have to look a jury in the eye it is harder to fudge."
January 31, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Case - Edgar Lee Boyd)
Judge says Vioxx user fails to link gastrointestinal damage to Vioxx, ATLANTIC CITY -- Merck & Co. has won a lawsuit over its Vioxx painkiller, after a state judge in New Jersey said a Texas man failed to prove the drug caused his stomach pain and internal bleeding. Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee granted a motion for summary judgment to Merck, saying the plaintiff, Edgar Lee Boyd, was unable to show he was hurt by Vioxx or by the company's alleged failure to warn of its side effects. "Plaintiff has not presented sufficient evidence that defendant's failure to warn was the proximate cause of his gastrointestinal injuries," Higbee said in her order issued Monday. "No reasonable jury could find that a different warning regarding gastrointestinal risks would have made a difference."
January 30, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuits | Merck & Co., Inc.)Merck taking a tough stance on Vioxx suits, WASHINGTON - 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, which 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 use of the drug.
January 29, 2006 (Second Texas VIOXX Case | 4th Vioxx Trial | Garza v. Merck)
Vioxx trial turning city of 12,000 into media ground zero, Business suits, BlackBerries and laptops seem to have taken over this town. As the nation’s fourth Vioxx lawsuit began this week in Rio Grande City, dozens of lawyers, reporters, analysts and expert witnesses descended on this city of about 12,000.
January 25, 2006 (Second Texas VIOXX Case | 4th Vioxx Trial | Garza v. Merck)Testimony to begin in fourth Vioxx trial, Lawyers for the family of a 71-year-old man opened their case Wednesday by arguing that his fatal 2001 heart attack was a sudden reaction to Merck & Co.'s painkiller Vioxx and not the end result of 23 years of heart disease as Merck lawyers contend. Joe Escobedo, the Leonel Garza family attorney said in his opening statement that Garza was told after a stress test shortly before he died that he had a less than 2 percent chance of dying of a heart attack within a year. "Vioxx caused Mr. Garza's death," Escobedo said. "Mr. Garza did have (cardiovascular) risk factors but they were under control."
January 25, 2006 (Federal Vioxx Retrial in New Orleans - Richard "Dickie" Irvin)
Federal Vioxx Retrial set for Feb. 6 in New Orleans, Although New Orleans has fewer than half the residents it did before Hurricane Katrina, the judge hearing the first federal Vioxx trial has told attorneys he does not expect any problems finding a jury to retry that case.
Judge Eldon E. Fallon told attorneys that notices were sent to 200 potential jurors, and only four replied that they could not attend on the scheduled dates. "Judge Fallon is confident they will get a jury for the case set Feb.6. He did not anticipate having any problem selecting a jury.
January 24, 2006 (Second Texas VIOXX Case | 4th Vioxx Trial | Garza v. Merck)
Jury selected in fourth Vioxx trial, A jury of 10 men and two women was selected Tuesday to hear the nation's fourth Vioxx trial, a lawsuit filed in south Texas by the family of an older man who died five years ago after battling heart disease for more than two decades. Among those who were dismissed from the jury pool were a 21-year-old man who wrote a paper about Merck while in high school and a woman who said she went to the emergency room after taking Vioxx. Several were dismissed because they knew the plaintiffs or had experienced recent deaths in their families.
January 24, 2006 (Second Texas VIOXX Case | 4th Vioxx Trial | Garza v. Merck)
Jury selection to begin in fourth trial, HARLINGEN, Texas Attorneys for Vioxx-maker Merck and Company may face their biggest challenge when the nation's fourth Vioxx trial begins today in the Rio Grande Valley. That's when they select a jury from what legal experts say is one of the most plaintiff-friendly regions in the country.
Those picked for the jury may be deciding if 71-year-old Leonel Garza's fatal 2001 heart attack resulted from 23 years of heart disease or about three weeks of taking Vioxx for arm pain.
January 24, 2006 (Second Texas VIOXX Case | 4th Vioxx Trial | Garza v. Merck)
Nation's fourth Vioxx trial to get under way in south Texas, HARLINGEN -- Defense attorneys in the nation's fourth Vioxx trial may face their biggest challenge today when they select a jury from what's considered one of the most plaintiff-friendly regions in the country, legal experts say. Those picked for the jury may be deciding if 71-year-old Leonel Garza's fatal 2001 heart attack was the end result of 23 years of heart disease or about three weeks of taking Merck & Co.'s Vioxx for arm pain.
January 24, 2006 (Federal Vioxx Retrial in New Orleans - Richard "Dickie" Irvin)
Federal court releases medical journal e-mails in Vioxx case, NEW ORLEANS -- An editor for a prestigious medical journal sounded both grateful and exasperated in an e-mail to another scientist as they went over an editorial criticizing researchers for leaving out critical data from a study of the painkiller Vioxx. "Thanks again with all the time you have spent on this Vioxx situation. The more we get into it, the messier it becomes," Dr. Gregory D. Curfman, executive editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, wrote in an e-mail made public Tuesday by the federal court in New Orleans.
January 10, 2006 (Second Texas VIOXX Case | 4th Vioxx Trial | Garza v. Merck)
Second Texas Vioxx trial slated for January, NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co., which lost its first Vioxx product liability case last summer in Texas, on Tuesday said a trial involving another Texas Vioxx user who suffered a fatal heart attack will begin January 24. Merck said it believes evidence in the case will show that its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx did not cause the heart attack of 71-year-old Leonel Garza Sr., who died of the attack on April 21, 2001.
January 10, 2006 (Second Texas VIOXX Case | 4th Vioxx Trial | Garza v. Merck)
Fourth Vioxx case set for Jan. 24 | New Vioxx case to be held in Texas, while mistrial will be retried next month in New Orleans, NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) The fourth Vioxx lawsuit against Merck & Co. will be held this month in a rural Texas court, the drug giant said Tuesday, and a retrial of the federal case that ended in a hung jury will be held in February in New Orleans. The family of Leonel Garza, 71, has sued Merck, blaming Vioxx for Garza's fatal heart attack in 2001, said the company, and the trial will be held Jan. 24 in Starr County, Texas.
January 7, 2006 (Second Texas VIOXX Case | 4th Vioxx Trial | Garza v. Merck)
Second Texas Vioxx case trial set in Starr County, RIO GRANDE CITY — The nation’s fourth lawsuit against Merck & Co.’s Vioxx painkiller, linked to heart problems, is set for jury selection Jan. 24 in a Starr County courtroom. The family of Leonel Garza sued the New Jersey pharmaceutical company, two McAllen doctors and a Harlingen clinic in March 2003 after the 71-year-old Rio Grande City man died of a heart attack one month after taking Vioxx.
January 6, 2006 (Second Texas VIOXX Case | 4th Vioxx Trial | Garza v. Merck)
Federal judge says Vioxx cases may be sent back to states,
The judge overseeing federal lawsuits over Merck & Co. Inc.'s Vioxx painkiller said he might end his effort to combine the cases for a possible settlement because of delays in getting some claims to trial. U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon in New Orleans said he was having trouble getting jury trials scheduled after Hurricane Katrina displaced thousands of residents and shut the city's courthouses for months. Plaintiffs' attorneys are pressing ahead with similar Vioxx suits in state courts around the United States.
January 5, 2006 (Luisianna VIOXX Cases)
Merck Vioxx Judge Threatens to End Suit Consolidation, The judge overseeing federal lawsuits over Merck & Co.'s Vioxx painkiller said he may end his effort to combine the cases for a possible settlement because of delays in getting some claims to trial.
Januay 4, 2006
Merck CEO Rules Out Vioxx Settlement, Merck & Co. (MRK) Chief Executive Richard Clark reiterated the company's vow to defend itself against each Vioxx lawsuit, and said it would be "unacceptable" to pursue a global settlement of the cases. Speaking at a Morgan Stanley pharmaceutical conference in New York Wednesday, Clark said "thinking about a global settlement or trying to put this behind us is totally unacceptable."
January 3, 2006 (New Jersey VIOXX Cases)
She's Ready to Dispense Justice in 4,333 Vioxx Suits, New Jersey Judge Carol Higbee isn't daunted by the mountain of cases over the Merck drug. For someone mired in judicial purgatory, Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee is remarkably upbeat. She doesn't want pity — many judges work as hard, she says. She doesn't want publicity — it makes her uncomfortable, and she grants interview requests grudgingly. She just wants justice — and she's ready to dispense it, one Vioxx case at a time, even if it takes a lifetime. And at the current rate, it could, assuming the cases are not settled or withdrawn.
January 1, 2005
Former Vioxx user planning to sue , The painkiller Vioxx continues to cause former and current patients taking the drug to suffer, and many former Vioxx users are taking their stories to the courts with the realization that Vioxx, which was supposed to help, may have actually harmed them. Jacksonville attorney Cy Jenkins is one of those people, and he currently has a Vioxx lawsuit pending against the maker of the drug.
December 28, 2005
Drug Firms Make More Study Results Public after VIOXX lawsuits, Drug companies are making public more information about medical studies they are conducting, but some still withhold key details, a new analysis of a federal registry finds. Merck & Co., stung by allegations that it hid information on Vioxx's dangers, gets somewhat better marks in the new analysis than it did in an earlier one. However, Pfizer Inc., GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Novartis are lagging, according to the report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
December 27, 2005
For NJ judge assigned to Vioxx, a never-ending docket, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- For someone mired in judicial purgatory, Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee is remarkably upbeat. She doesn't want publicity, she just wants justice and she's ready to dispense it, one Vioxx case at a time, even if it takes a lifetime. At this rate, it could, assuming the cases are not settled or withdrawn. Higbee, 55, is the New Jersey judge assigned to thousands of cases brought in state court against Merck & Co. over its now-withdrawn painkiller Vioxx. The lawsuits, all 4,333 of them, blame Vioxx for heart attacks and strokes suffered by users.
December 19, 2005
Lessons from Vioxx, MERCK PHARMACEUTICAL company took the pain reliever Vioxx off the market more than a year ago, after a clinical study found that Vioxx caused heart attacks. And now instead of helping people with chronic pain, Vioxx is the subject of thousands of lawsuits contending that it helped to kill them.
December 16, 2005 (First Federal Vioxx Case -- Richard "Dickie" Irvin)
Federal Vioxx Retrial to be Held in New Orleans in February, HOUSTON Dec 16, 2005 — Round Two of the nation's first federal trial challenging safety of Merck & Co.'s drug Vioxx will be Feb. 6 in New Orleans, a judge told attorneys Friday. The federal Vioxx case trial centered on the 2001 death of Richard "Dicky" Irvin, a Florida wholesale seafood company manager who took Vioxx for about a month. Merck blamed Irvin's clogged arteries for his death, and said Vioxx couldn't be responsible because he took the drug for such a short time. Irvin's widow, Evelyn Irvin Plunkett, countered that Vioxx caused a blood clot in one of Irvin's arteries, which led to his fatal heart attack.
December 15, 2005
Merck's defense in Vioxx case suffers setback, Vioxx company Merck's defense against lawsuits for damages by people who suffered heart attacks after taking Vioxx has taken a blow from a pillar of the medical establishment. In an online "expression of concern", The New England Journal of Medicine claims that Merck knowingly omitted three instances of heart attacks from a clinical study published in the journal in 2000. The journal learned of the omission from documents submitted in one of around 7000 lawsuits pending against Merck since it withdrew the drug in September 2004.
December 13, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Case)
Lone holdout juror caused Merck's Vioxx mistrial: paper, HOUSTON (Reuters) - The mistrial in the first federal trial over Merck & Co.'s painkiller Vioxx was caused by a lone holdout on the jury who believed the company was at fault in the death of a Florida man, the Houston Chronicle reported on Tuesday. The U.S. judge hearing the case declared a mistrial on Monday after the nine-member jury said they could not reach a unanimous verdict in the case, which will be retried next year.
December 13, 2005 Merck Faces Mark Lanier, Lawyer Who Beat Them Before in Next Vioxx Trial, Merck & Co., after one win, one loss and one mistrial in defending lawsuits over its Vioxx painkiller, will next face the lawyer who beat the company and the first victim who used the drug long enough to risk a heart attack. Thomas Cona, a Vietnam War veteran who took Vioxx over a two-year period for lower-back pain, claims the drug caused his heart attack. Merck has said there is some risk of heart attack or stroke after at least 18 months of Vioxx use. Cona will be represented by Mark Lanier, the Texas lawyer who won the first case, which produced a $253 million verdict against Merck.
December 12, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Federal Vioxx case ends in mistrial, The nation's first federal Vioxx trial ended Monday with a hung jury, but the case involving the 2001 death of a Florida man who took the once-popular painkiller for a month will be retried, a judge said. The mistrial leaves Vioxx maker Merck & Co. with the prospect of facing a new jury that could hear allegations that the company withheld information from the New England Journal of Medicine about a 2000 Vioxx study so the drug would appear safer than it was. Merck shares fell almost 3 percent as the trial's outcome shook investors.
December 11, 2005 New England Journal of Medicine Editorial May Bolster Plaintiff Cases | NEW YORK -- Merck & Co.'s failure to disclose information about additional heart attacks in a Vioxx clinical trial to a prominent medical journal strengthens plaintiffs' cases because it bolsters claims that the company deliberately disguised the pain reliever's risks, experts said. Last Thursday, the New England Journal of Medicine issued an editorial which said at least two authors of a Vioxx study called VIGOR knew at least two weeks before the paper was submitted and 4 months before it was published that there were three heart attacks not included in the article's data. The absence of the data led to incorrect calculations and conclusions, the editorial said.
December 10, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Merck Vioxx Jury to Continue Deliberations on Monday, (Bloomberg) -- A federal jury deciding whether Merck & Co.'s Vioxx painkiller caused a Florida man's fatal heart attack said it will return next week to keep deliberating in the case. The panel told U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon in Houston earlier today that it couldn't reach a unanimous verdict about whether Merck's handling of its Vioxx drug led to Richard "Dicky" Irvin's death. Fallon asked jurors to continue deliberations and the group said late today it would return Monday and resume weighing claims in the case.
December 10, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Vioxx witness fired from top posts, The medical school leader criticized Merck recently at a federal trial. He has often warned of the pain reliever | A cardiologist who testified at a federal trial in Houston that Merck & Co. Inc.'s Vioxx pain reliever posed an "extraordinary risk" of causing heart attacks has been removed from two leadership positions at the Cleveland Clinic medical school. Eric Topol, 51, criticized Merck in testimony Dec. 3 at the trial of a lawsuit by the widow of Richard "Dicky" Irvin, who blames her husband's fatal heart attack on Vioxx. Two days later, Topol was removed as provost and chief academic officer at the medical school. He remains chairman of the clinic's cardiovascular medicine department.
December 8, 2005
New England Journal Charges Merck Deleted Vioxx Study Data, THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- The editors at one of the world's leading medical journals have accused researchers and Vioxx manufacturer Merck & Co. of withholding key heart risk data that showed up in one of the first large trials of the now-withdrawn arthritis painkiller. Specifically, the editors of the New England Journal of Medicine charged that a major study published in November 2000 was submitted to the journal after information about three heart attacks among Vioxx trial participants was deleted by Merck, which funded the study.
December 8, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Closing arguments today in Federal Vioxx trial in Houston, Merck rested its case yesterday after a pathologist testified the painkiller played no role in the 2001 fatal heart attack of "Dicky" Irvin of Florida. Widow Evelyn Irvin Plunkett claims Merck failed to issue safety warnings about Vioxx, which her 53-year-old husband had taken for about one month. Doctor Thomas Wheeler with Baylor College of Medicine's pathology department earlier testified Vioxx did not contribute to Irvin's death.
December 8, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Federal VIOXX Case Jury to Begin Deliberations Today, HOUSTON - Closing arguments were set for this morning in the first federal trial against Merck & Co. over its painkiller Vioxx. Jurors are expected to begin deliberating later today.
December 7, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Merck rests its defense case in Vioxx trial, HOUSTON -- Merck & Co. rested its case Wednesday in the first federal trial involving the painkiller Vioxx after a pathologist testified that the drug played no role in a man's fatal heart attack. Closing arguments were set for Thursday in the trial stemming from a lawsuit filed by Evelyn Irvin Plunkett, whose 53-year-old husband Richard "Dicky" Irvin died in 2001 after taking Vioxx for back pain for a month. She says Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck failed to issue safety warnings and that Vioxx caused his heart attack.
December 6, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Widow: Husband Was Healthy Before Fatal Heart Attack, POSTED: 8:11 am CST December 6, 2005, HOUSTON -- A 53-year-old former college football player was "a big, strong, healthy guy" when he died unexpectedly of a heart attack after taking the painkiller Vioxx for a month, his widow testified Monday in the trial of her federal lawsuit against Merck & Co.
December 6, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
At Merck, 'agony' over Vioxx - Edward Scolnick told colleagues of his concern while he was head of research labs, HOUSTON - While president of Merck Research Laboratories, Edward Scolnick told some colleagues he was in "minor agony" about whether the pain-reliever Vioxx led to heart attacks, according to a videotaped deposition played for jurors yesterday in the nation's first federal trial involving the drug.
December 5, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Ex-Merck exec worried about Vioxx safety, The then-president of Merck Research Laboratories told some colleagues he was in "minor agony" about whether the painkiller Vioxx led to heart attacks, according to a videotaped deposition played for jurors Monday in the nation's first federal trial involving the drug.
December 5, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Testimony: Vioxx linked to increase in heart attacks, Houston Chronicle, The former top scientist at Merck testified today that he initially concluded an internal study of Vioxx linked the drug to an increase in heart attacks and strokes less than a year after it was approved for sale.
December 2, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Vioxx patient's death cost family $402K, The family of the deceased at the center of the first federal Vioxx trial suffered at least $402,373 in economic losses when he died, according to a witness that testified Friday. Economist Frederick Raffa said he reached the figure by combining estimates of how much Richard "Dicky" Irvin would have earned to support his family and the value of services he provided around the house.
December 2, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Expert: Vioxx Use Causes Heart Attacks, Expert in Vioxx Case Testifies Drug Causes Heart Attacks No Matter Length of Use, Size of Dose, HOUSTON Dec 2, 2005, After about three hours of cross examination by a Merck & Co. lawyer, a witness for the widow of a man who died after taking Vioxx reiterated Friday his belief that the drug causes heart attacks regardless of the length of use or of the size of dose.
December 1, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Witness Says Vioxx a Factor in Man's Death, HOUSTON -- Only two days into the Vioxx trial, jurors were hearing testimony on a key question in the case. What caused the blood clot that killed 53-year-old Richard "Dicky" Irvin of St. Augustine, Fla.? Irvin died in May 2001 when the clot suddenly obstructed the flow of blood from his heart. He had been taking Vioxx for a little less than a month. Irvin's case represents Vioxx's first federal trial.
December 1, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Vioxx victim said at low risk for heart attack, DEC. 1 3:07 P.M. ET The deceased at the center of the first federal Vioxx trial was at low risk for a heart attack and his blocked artery didn't need invasive treatment, according to a doctor who testified Thursday.
December 1, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Doctor says Vioxx can cause heart attacks, An expert witness testified Thursday that he believes Vioxx can cause heart attacks and can trigger an event in less than a month.
November 30, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Doctor: Vioxx was factor in man's death, NOV. 30 5:06 P.M. ET Merck & Co.'s former blockbuster drug Vioxx helped cause a blood clot that triggered the fatal heart attack of a Florida man, a pathologist testified on Wednesday at the first federal trial concerning the pain killer's safety. "It is my opinion that it contributed to his death," Dr. Colin M. Bloor told jurors in the second day of the trial that centers on whether Vioxx caused Richard "Dicky" Irvin's fatal heart attack in May 2001. The 53-year old manager of a seafood distributor had been taking Vioxx for about a month to alleviate back pain when his colleagues found him dead at his desk.
November 30, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Expert testifies in federal VIOXX trial that VIOXX can cause deadly clots, First witness takes the stand in suit over death of Florida man, By ANNE BELLI,
Houston Chronicle, A nationally known pharmacology expert testified Tuesday that the prescription painkiller Vioxx can cause blood clots like the one that led to the death of a Florida seafood salesman four years ago. Further, scientists and officials from drug maker Merck either intentionally ignored or were oblivious to that risk, said Benedict Lucchesi, a professor at the University of Michigan and an expert in drug management of heart disease.
November 29, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Lawsuit Blames Vioxx for Man's Heart Attack, Lawyer for Plaintiff in Vioxx Case Says Pain Reliever Caused Husband's Fatal Heart Attack. HOUSTON Nov 29, 2005 — A lawyer representing the widow of man who claims that Merck & Co.'s Vioxx caused her husband's death argued on Tuesday that taking the pain reliever for one month was enough to cause the 53-year old man's heart attack. But Merck countered in opening statements at the first federal Vioxx trial that its extensive studies of the painkiller before introducing it in 1999 showed no evidence it caused heart attacks with short-term use, and that heart disease, not Vioxx, led to Richard "Dicky" Irvin's death.
November 29, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
First federal Vioxx trial begins, Man died after taking Merck's painkiller for a month. Richard Irvin, left, shown with son Ritchie and wife Evelyn, died in May 2001 after taking Vioxx for a month. HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- The first federal Vioxx trial began Tuesday as a jury was chosen in a case that would determine if Merck & Co.'s once-popular painkiller caused the death of a 53-year-old man. The court took less than two hours to choose a four-woman, five-man jury -- three of whom are alternates.
November 25, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Jury Selection to Start in First Federal Vioxx Trial, (Houston, TX) Whithouse Station-based Merck is preparing for another trial over its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx. This time, the VIOXX case is in federal court. Jury selection is set to start in Houston Tuesday for a federal trial that will be the third faced by Merck from among some seven-thousand cases filed by people who claim they were hurt by Vioxx. A jury in Houston ruled against Merck in August and one in Atlantic City this month ruled in Merck's favor. Those cases were both in state courts. The upcoming case revolves around the 2001 death of Richard "Dicky" Irvin. His widow says Vioxx killed him.
November 25, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
First Vioxx federal trial to focus on length of use, Merck enters its third court battle over drug with split record in state courts, HOUSTON - In April of 2001, Richard “Dicky” Irvin was among millions of people who found relief from nagging pain in Vioxx, then a popular painkiller often praised as a wonder drug that worked when others failed. Whether Merck & Co.’s once-lucrative drug led to his death lies at the center of the third Vioxx-related case in the nation to face a jury, and the first to do so in federal court.
November 25, 2005 (First Federal VIOXX Trial in Houston, TX)
Merck Suffers Vioxx Lawsuits Setback, A U.S. district judge's pretrial ruling against drug maker Merck and Co. means a tougher fight for the company in thousands of lawsuits involving its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx. The Nov. 16 ruling affects the first federal trial of Vioxx, scheduled to begin Tuesday in Houston. U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon ruled that plaintiff lawyers in the case may present evidence that brief use of Vioxx may trigger heart attacks and strokes, the Associated Press reported.
November 25, 2005
Can Merck bounce back from Vioxx?, As the first federal case over withdrawn painkiller Vioxx goes to trial in the US, David Quainton looks at Merck's fall from grace and the implications for the pharma trade. US pharma leviathan Merck & Co was once well loved, a bastion of sound science and a reliable company in which to invest. In September 2004 this all changed. Vioxx, its now-notorious blockbuster arthritis drug, was found to double the risk of heart attack and stroke. What was worse, people believed Merck already knew about it.
November 22, 2005
Next New Jrsey Vioxx Trial Has a Date, but No Name Yet, Lisa Brennan
New Jersey Law Journal, Atlantic County, N.J., Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee told lawyers Nov. 17 that the next Vioxx trial would begin on Jan. 30, and lawyers on both sides say they expect it to be a suit over a death. Higbee, who is overseeing the state's 3,500 Vioxx cases, also said that trial would be followed by another one on March 27. But she has not yet decided which cases would be heard on those dates. She will announce the order of the next seven cases on Nov. 28.
November 17, 2005
Uncertainty surrounds latest Vioxx cases, Updated: 1:12 a.m. ET Nov. 17, 2005, Some Vioxx cases earmarked for trial by a New Jersey judge do not involve plaintiffs taking the withdrawn painkiller continuously for 18 months, in spite of being selected as such. But at least one of 12 cases listed by the judge last week does include claim of injury from Vioxx after taking the drug for 18 months, say defense attorneys. This would mark the first 18-month case acknowledged by Merck, which withdrew Vioxx a year ago after finding increased heart risks.
November 16, 2005
Limited use of Vioxx at issue in next trial, Wed Nov 16, 2005 3:03 PM ET, by Martha Graybow, NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fresh off a victory in the last Vioxx case to go to trial, Merck & Co Inc. is preparing to start fighting another lawsuit over the painkiller later this month in a Houston federal court. Legal experts say the upcoming case -- the first to be heard in a federal, rather than state court -- may be particularly challenging for the plaintiff, the widow of Richard "Dicky" Irvin Jr. Irvin, a 53-year-old seafood company manager in St. Augustine, Florida, died in May 2001 after taking the drug for less than a month.
November 16, 2005
Vioxx Users to Challenge Safety Claims, HOUSTON (AP) - Whether the once-popular painkiller Vioxx can be lethal if taken for just a few weeks will be the crux of the first federal trial concerning the drug's safety, plaintiff's lawyers said Wednesday.
November 15, 2005
Vioxx, Celebrex face the music again as study says they cause death in heart patients, DALLAS - Painkillers like Merck's Vioxx and Pfizer's Celebrex took a hammering once again as a Danish study found that they increase the chances of death in people who had survived previous heart attacks. These findings were released at the American Heart Association conference here on Sunday.
November 15, 2005
Lawyers argue on true meaning of Vioxx research, NEW ORLEANS - Lawyers for Merck and for a woman whose husband died of a heart attack one month after he began taking Vioxx cited the same studies today. They're trying to convince a judge that the other side has no acceptable evidence to support its key arguments over the painkiller. Attorneys for Richard Irvin Junior's family contend numerous studies show an increase in heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems within weeks after people began taking Vioxx.
November 14, 2005
Most Recent Vioxx Study Shows Merck Will Need More Than Courtroom Theatrics to Win Once the More Difficult Trials Start, By Steven DiJoseph, Litigation Experts See Mass of Evidence against Merck as Virtually Insurmountable When the Company Defends Long-Use and Death Cases. Another day, another negative study involving COX-2 inhibitors; the class of drugs that includes Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra, and other NSAIDs. All along, critics of these drugs saw them as dangerous, unnecessary, overpriced, “super aspirins” that would ultimately wind up injuring and killing people. Merck and Pfizer, however, saw the drugs as potential blockbusters and, in what has been called the ultimate triumph of marketing over science, turned Vioxx, Celebrex, and Bextra into multi-billion dollar cash cows.
November 14, 2005
Most Recent Vioxx Study Shows Merck Will Need More Than Courtroom Theatrics to Win Once the More Difficult Trials Start, By Steven DiJoseph, Litigation Experts See Mass of Evidence against Merck as Virtually Insurmountable When the Company Defends Long-Use and Death Cases. Another day, another negative study involving COX-2 inhibitors; the class of drugs that includes Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra, and other NSAIDs. All along, critics of these drugs saw them as dangerous, unnecessary, overpriced, “super aspirins” that would ultimately wind up injuring and killing people.
November 11, 12005
Lawyers: Next Vioxx Case Tough for Merck, TRENTON, N.J., Nov. 11, 2005, (AP) The next Vioxx product-liability case to come to trial in New Jersey will likely be a tougher battle for manufacturer Merck & Co., which last week got its first courtroom victory in a case involving short-term use of the now-withdrawn painkiller. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee, who is overseeing about 3,500 Vioxx lawsuits filed in New Jersey _ half the suits filed to date _ has told attorneys she wants the next group of trials to involve plaintiffs who took the drug for 18 months or more. Plaintiff lawyers said the judge appears to want to determine how such cases will play out in an attempt to encourage the settlement of some lawsuits.
November 11, 2005
Merck opposes judge's Vioxx trials plan, NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co. (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) opposes a plan by a New Jersey judge to limit upcoming cases over the painkiller Vioxx to those involving users who took the drug for 18 months or longer, an attorney for the drugmaker said on Friday.
Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee, whose court is overseeing about half of the U.S. personal-injury suits involving Vioxx, will hold a hearing Thursday on the matter.
November 7, 2005
Court win does little to revive Merck, AP TRENTON — Last week's courtroom victory in a Vioxx liability case gave drug maker Merck & Co. a 1-1 record, but its executives will hardly have time to savor the win. The Readington-based pharmaceutical company is facing big problems — besides the 7,000 lawsuits to go. Among them: falling revenues and net income, two top drugs soon to lose billions in sales to generic competition, and stock shares mired at barely half their former level.
November 6, 2005
Merck can expect more highs, lows, Verdicts, fortunes and morale will certainly vary as the remaining 6,400 Vioxx cases come to trial. Minutes after Merck & Co. Inc.'s big victory last week in its second Vioxx trial, two predictable events put the win in sobering perspective. Merck's value on the New York Stock Exchange soared by $2.7 billion, or 4.2 percent, then fell like a slowly deflating balloon as investors digested the news, sliding by $483 million within a half hour. About the same time, Merck's general counsel, Kenneth Frazier, sent a memo to the company's 62,000 employees calling the verdict a vindication of Merck's actions and legal strategy over the blockbuster pain reliever. Then he threw some cold water. "We must put it in its appropriate context. There are more trials to come," Frazier wrote, according to a copy provided by an employee. For good measure, Frazier urged employees to keep their noses to the grindstone and "not allow media reports and courtroom battles to distract us.
November 4, 2005
Merck's Vioxx Victory May Not Help Future Cases, Analysts Say, (Bloomberg) - Merck & Co. can't savor yesterday's victory in the second trial over its Vioxx painkiller for long, say analysts and lawyers tracking the 6,400 other lawsuits the company faces for injuries or deaths linked to the drug. Merck, the No. 3 U.S. drugmaker, faces its next trial on Nov. 28 in Houston, where a widow of a Vioxx user claims her husband died after one month on the drug. Analysts say Merck faces billions of dollars in potential liability from such cases following its New Jersey victory.
November 3, 2005
Jury Rules in Favor of Merck in New Jersey Vioxx Case , A New Jersey jury yesterday ruled Merck & Co. as not legally responsible for the heart attack suffered by an Idaho man taking the arthritis painkiller Vioxx, saying that the company had warned doctors of the drug’s possible side effects. The case was heard in Atlantic County Superior Court before Judge Carol E. Higbee, who is overseeing more than 2,900 suits filed in state court in New Jersey against Merck, which is based in Whitehouse Station, N.J. In all, more than 6,400 lawsuits have been filed against Merck in state and federal courts, and tens of thousands more are expected.
November 2, 2005
For Vioxx plaintiff, waiting's not the hardest part, by JOHN CURRAN -- For the man in the eye of the Vioxx storm, it's all over but the waiting. As a jury deliberates his case against drug manufacturer Merck & Co., Frederick "Mike" Humeston wonders _ about the verdict, about his mortality, about what's in store for him and for others who say the painkiller did more than kill pain.
November 2, 2005
Jury resumes deliberations in New Jersey Vioxx case , ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. Jurors at the New Jersey Vioxx trial had lunch while continuing their deliberations. They're sifting through evidence in Atlantic City, New Jersey. That's as they decide whether Vioxx-maker Merck and Company misled the public about the drug's safety and whether Vioxx caused an Idaho man's heart attack.
November 2, 2005
Merck's future rides on VIOXX jury verdict, If Merck loses an Atlantic City trial on the health effects of its Vioxx painkiller, its troubles will get much worse. The verdict could come this week. By Jim Jubak. If Merck can't win a Vioxx trial in New Jersey, it can't win anywhere. Now that the closing arguments have closed in the Atlantic City, N.J., trial pitting the company against postal worker Frederick "Mike" Humeston, the company's future is in the hands of the six women and three men on a jury that could render a verdict this week.
November 2, 2005
No Verdict In N.J. Vioxx Trial, (AP) ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. A jury deliberated for 61/2 hours Wednesday without reaching a verdict in a product liability trial accusing Merck & Co.'s painkiller Vioxx of causing a man's heart attack. The six-woman, three-man panel -- which includes an assistant county prosecutor, a retired surgeon's wife and a teacher -- will try again Thursday to decide whether the drug played a part in the heart attack suffered by Frederick "Mike" Humeston, a postal worker from Boise, Idaho.
November 1, 2005
Merck knew of Vioxx dangers: plaintiff's lawyer, New Jersey (Reuters) - Merck & Co. Inc. knew its painkiller Vioxx increased the risk of heart attacks and failed to inform doctors and the public in order to protect profits, an attorney for a man who blames the withdrawn drug for his 2001 heart attack told jurors on Tuesday. In his closing argument, Christopher Seeger, lead attorney for the plaintiff in the second Vioxx case to go to trial, accused Merck of concealing evidence that the drug was associated with a rate of heart attacks five times higher than for from another common pain reliever, naproxen.
November 1, 2005
N.J. Jury Begins Deliberating Vioxx Case, AP, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A state court jury hearing a Vioxx product liability case brought by a postal worker against the drugmaker Merck deliberated about an hour Tuesday without reaching a verdict and was then sent home for the night after getting the case earlier in the day.
November 1, 2005
New Jersey Vioxx Case Goes To Jury, (AP) A state court jury in a closely watched Vioxx product liability case began deliberating Tuesday afternoon, capping a seven-week trial in which drug manufacturer Merck & Co. was accused of knowingly misrepresenting the safety risks of its blockbuster arthritis drug. The six-woman, three-man panel on Tuesday heard the closing argument of a lawyer for an Idaho postal worker blaming Vioxx for his heart attack. Lawyer Chris Seeger called Merck a "monster."
October 31, 2005
Summary of Monday's developments in New Jersey VIOXX Case, October 31, 2005, 5:39 PM EST
MONDAY'S DEVELOPMENTS: In closing arguments, Merck & Co.'s lead lawyer insisted there was no evidence Vioxx caused the heart attack of plaintiff Frederick "Mike" Humeston. In a nearly three-hour closing, lawyer Diane Sullivan also told jurors the U.S. Food and Drug Administration endorsed the drug as safe and that Merck never tried to hide unfavorable data from clinical studies of the drug. "The FDA has never concluded that Merck did not adequately warn about Vioxx, and I think that's important," said Sullivan.
BACKGROUND: Humeston, 60, a postal worker from Boise, Idaho, took Vioxx to ease pain from a knee injury suffered as a U.S. Marine fighting in Vietnam. He claims Vioxx use triggered his Sept. 18, 2001 heart attack, and blames Merck for failing to warn doctors and consumers about the risks of Vioxx. Merck, which put the prescription painkiller, Vioxx, on the market in 1999 and pulled it last year after a study showed increased risk of heart attacks and strokes after more than 18 months' use, says Humeston was at risk for heart disease as a 56-year-old man with elevated blood pressure, low levels of "good cholesterol" and too much weight on his 6-foot-1 inch frame.
WHAT'S NEXT: On Tuesday, Humeston attorney Chris Seeger gets his last chance to swing the six-woman, three-man jury to his side, delivering his closing argument before Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee instructs jurors on the law. Deliberations may begin Tuesday.
October 31, 2005
Closing arguments start in 2nd Vioxx trial, By JOHN CURRAN, Associated Press WriterOCT. 31 1:02 P.M. ET Merck & Co.'s lead lawyer urged jurors not to hold the maker of Vioxx responsible for plaintiff Frederick "Mike" Humeston's heart attack four years ago as closing arguments began Monday in the second product liability trial of the now-withdrawn painkiller. Lawyer Diane Sullivan told jurors that earlier this year federal regulators said risk of heart attacks does not rise with short-term use of the class of drugs that includes Vioxx.
October 31, 2005
Closing Arguments Begin in New Jersey VIOXX Case, (Reuters) - Work-related stress and other risk factors caused a former postal worker's heart attack and not the withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, Merck & Co Inc.'s lead attorney said in closing arguments at the second Vioxx trial on Monday. "The best common sense explanation for Mr. Humeston's heart attack is the stress he had in September of 2001," Merck attorney Diane Sullivan told the jury. The suit was brought by Frederick "Mike" Humeston, a 60-year-old Idaho postal worker who blames Vioxx for his 2001 heart attack. Humeston had been taking Vioxx for about two months to relieve knee pain stemming from a Vietnam War wound.
October 30, 2005
New Jersey Vioxx Verdict Carries Big Stakes for Merck, By JOHN CURRAN, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - For Merck & Co., another courtroom defeat over its painkiller Vioxx would be a prescription for trouble. The pharmaceutical company, whose fortunes soared partly on the strength of the drug's popularity, is nervously awaiting the outcome of the second Vioxx product liability case to go to trial. A jury is expected to decide this week whether the Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based company is liable for the heart attack suffered by Idaho postal worker Frederick "Mike" Humeston. Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday, with jurors likely to get the case either Monday or Tuesday.
October 28, 2005
Closings set for Monday in New Jersey VIOXX case, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Lawyers for Merck & Co. and a postal worker suing the company over Vioxx met privately with the judge in the case again Friday, negotiating over the wording of instructions she will give to jurors before they begin deliberating. After seven weeks of testimony, Frederick "Mike" Humeston's case against the Vioxx manufacturer is expected to go to the jury Monday or Tuesday. Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday.
October 28, 2005
Judge pushes back New Jersey Vioxx trial closings arguments to Monday, Closing arguments at the second liability trial over Merck & Co. Inc.'s Vioxx painkiller will be held Monday, not today as originally scheduled, a New Jersey judge ruled. Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee pushed back summations in Atlantic City after meeting with lawyers for Merck and Frederick Humeston, an Idaho postal worker who blames his 2001 heart attack on Vioxx.
October 27, 2005 | Summary of Today's Develpments in the New Jersey VIOXX case
Summary of Thursday's Developments in Atlantic City Trial
THURSDAY'S DEVELOPMENTS: Closing arguments in the seven-week trial, which had been scheduled for Friday, were postponed until Monday after lawyers met behind closed doors with state Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee to discuss jury charges and other issues.
BACKGROUND: Merck & Co. is on trial over its now-withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, which Idaho postal worker Frederick "Mike" Humeston blames for the heart attack he suffered Sept. 18, 2001. Merck, which acknowledges links between Vioxx and heart attacks after 18 months' use, says Humeston took it for only two months and was stricken because of his own health problems, not Vioxx.
WHAT'S NEXT: Closing arguments are planned for Monday, after which Higbee will instruct the jury and send them out to begin deliberations.
October 27, 2005
New Jersey Vioxx trial jurors have a lot to digest, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - When six women and three men retire to a jury room in the Atlantic County Civil Courthouse to begin deliberating in the second Vioxx product liability case, they'll have plenty to consider. After seven weeks, 21 witnesses, hundreds of documents and enough testimony to fill 5,764 pages of trial transcript, they face a daunting task - deciding whether Vioxx caused a postal worker's heart attack and whether drug maker Merck & Co. is liable for it.
October 27, 2005
Defense rests case in New Jersey Vioxx product-liability trial, ATLANTIC CITY — Merck & Co. rested its defense yesterday in a high-stakes Vioxx product liability trial — and none too soon for jurors, who apparently have been pondering how to wind down from the rigors of the seven-week trial. Closing arguments are scheduled for tomorrow in the case, which centers on an Idaho postal worker who blames his heart attack on Vioxx.
October 25, 2005
New Jersey Vioxx case judge amends ruling on key FDA memoOCT. 25 4:12 P.M. ET A day after refusing to admit a U.S. Food and Drug Administration memo into evidence, the judge hearing a Vioxx product liability case had a change of heart, telling lawyers for both sides they could discuss its key conclusions but not show it to jurors. In an unexpected twist, state Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee ruled Tuesday that an expert cardiologist testifying for Vioxx maker Merck & Co. could be questioned about the memo. It said other anti-inflammatory drugs also carry risk of heart attack, stroke and death.
October 21, 2005
Courtroom Wrangling Over Vioxx Escalates, By JOHN CURRAN Associated Press Writer, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. Oct 21, 2005 — A Merck & Co. scientist who says the company took steps to investigate the safety of its Vioxx painkiller denied Friday that the company attempted to downplay the drug's risks. In a boisterous courtroom session that repeatedly forced Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee to play referee for bickering lawyers, Dr. Barry Gertz rejected a plaintiff's lawyer's assertion that Merck tried to put the "best face" on data from clinical studies when it published them.
October 21, 2005
Merck scientist: Animal studies counter risk, Friday, October 21, 2005, BY GEORGE E. JORDAN, Star-Ledger Staff, Amid repeated objections and delays, a top Merck scientist yesterday testified the drugmaker conducted experiments on dogs and rabbits that convinced him the painkiller Vioxx was safe. Barry Gertz, an executive vice president with the Whitehouse Station-based company, said the four studies in the late 1990s were aimed at better understanding the relationship between Vioxx and prostacyclin, a substance produced by the body that inhibits blood clots.
October 20, 2005
Merck expert defends explanation for man's heart attack, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. Several testy exchanges happened today during cross examination at the Vioxx trial in Atlantic City, New Jersey. A cardiologist who says the Merck painkiller wasn't to blame for the plaintiff's 2001 heart attack acknowledged that he was unsure whether the man had a family history of heart disease. The plaintiff's lawyer showed jurors two medical records that said Frederick Humeston's family members had no history of cardiac ailments.
October 20, 2005
Top Merck researcher says many studies proved Vioxx safe, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. Jurors at the Vioxx trial in Atlantic City, New Jersey, are hearing from a top Merck executive. Doctor Barry Gertz says the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant did several studies on animals that proved the safety of its now-withdrawn painkiller. An Idaho postal worker blames his intermittent use of Vioxx over two months for his heart attack in 2001.
October 20, 2005
Merck cites animal studies as basis for Vioxx safety, By Thomas Ginsberg, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER, ATLANTIC CITY - The trial over the pain-reliever Vioxx took a zoological turn today, with a Merck & Co. Inc. scientist saying several studies on dogs and rabbits convinced him and others in the late 1990s that Vioxx was safe for the human heart. The testimony by Merck's executive vice president for clinical studies, Barry J. Gertz, was intended to prove Merck did not know about the cardiovascular risk of Vioxx when it was taken in 2001 by an Idaho postal worker, Frederick "Mike" Humeston, who claims Merck should have known that Vioxx carried of risk of heart attacks.
October 18, 2005
Testimony centers on formula for Vioxx, By Associated Press | October 18, 2005, ATLANTIC CITY -- Merck & Co. executives privately discussed adding a compound to Vioxx to make the blockbuster painkiller protect the heart the way aspirin does, a company researcher said yesterday, five weeks into a trial over whether the now-off-the-market drug caused a man's heart attack.In the third and final day of cross-examination of Merck researcher Dr. Alise Reicin, an attorney for a man who blames Vioxx for his heart attack discussed the company's actions after a March 2000 study showed people using Vioxx had five times as many heart attacks as those using naproxen, an older, cheaper pain reliever.
October 18, 2005
Cardiologist: Vioxx did not cause postal worker's heart attack, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. A cardiologist says a man who's suing New Jersey-based Merck over use of the drug Vioxx -- had a buildup of plaque in his arteries. Doctor Theodore Tyberg says the buildup was not caused by the since-withdrawn painkiller. Tyberg is a witness for Merck. His conclusions on direct questioning differed with a cardiology expert who testified for the plaintiff at the trial in Atlantic City, New Jersey, last month. The plaintiff blames Vioxx for causing his heart attack.
October 18, 2005
Vioxx memo warned of 'wishful thinking', By Thomas Ginsberg, Inquirer Staff Writer, ATLANTIC CITY - A Merck & Co. Inc. senior executive told his colleagues in 2001 that they might be drawing "pre-conceived" hypotheses and engaging in "wishful thinking" over the safety of their blockbuster pain reliever Vioxx, documents show. The memo, along with a Merck internal document projecting $437 million in lost revenue if Vioxx turned out to be risky for the heart, was presented during a day of testimony yesterday in the case of Frederick "Mike" Humeston, 60, an Idaho Vioxx user and heart-attack patient who contends Merck tried to mask the drug's risks. Merck counters that Humeston's personal risk factors, not Vioxx, caused his 2001 heart attack.
October 18, 2005
Cardiologist tells jury Idaho man had heart-attack risk factors, By Josh Goldstein, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER, ATLANTIC CITY - Merck & Co. Inc. resumed its defense in the first New Jersey Vioxx trial today with a cardiologist who testified that Frederick "Mike" Humeston was at risk for the heart attack the 60-year-old postal worker claims was caused by the pain reliever. Theodore Tyberg, an associate professor of cardiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Cornell, showed that plaque had built up in Humeston's coronary arteries prior to his 2001 heart attack. Tyberg used Humeston's medical records to show the New Jersey Superior Court jury the mechanisms of how plaque deposits in arteries can rupture and lead to a blockage that results in a heart attack.
October 17, 2005
Merck executive admits company considered new Vioxx formula, By BONNIE PFISTER, Associated Press Writer, October 17, 2005, 6:49 PM EDT, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Merck & Co. executives privately discussed adding a compound to Vioxx to make the blockbuster painkiller protect the heart the way aspirin does, a company researcher said Monday, five weeks into a trial over whether the now-withdrawn drug caused a man's heart attack. In the third and final day of cross-examination of Merck researcher Dr. Alise Reicin, a lawyer for a man who blames Vioxx for his heart attack discussed the company's actions after a March 2000 study showed people using Vioxx had five times as many heart attacks as those using naproxen, an older, cheaper pain reliever.
October 15, 2005
Scientist spends third day on stand in Vioxx trial, Saturday, October 15, 2005, BY JEFF MAY, Star-Ledger Staff, A scientific witness for Merck in New Jersey's first Vioxx trial was called a "tireless defender of the Vioxx franchise" by her boss, and led a company team that helped commercialize the painkiller. Merck is relying on the research credentials and poise of Alise Reicin, a vice president of clinical research for the Whitehouse Station- based drugmaker, to sway jurors in the product-liability lawsuit of Frederick "Mike" Humeston, which finished its fifth week in state Superior Court in Atlantic City.
October 13, 2005
Merck researcher defends Vioxx test results at trial, Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/13/05, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, ATLANTIC CITY — A lawyer for the Idaho postal worker who blames Vioxx for his September 2001 heart attack grilled a Merck & Co. researcher Wednesday about why the company did not alert doctors over deaths among certain Vioxx users five months earlier. In Vioxx's second product liability trial, attorney David Buchanan questioned researcher Dr. Alise Reicin about death rates of people in clinical studies meant to see if Vioxx could also be used to treat Alzheimer's disease.
October 13, 2005
Merck ex-chief on caustic e-mail, By videotape, the research head explained insulting remarks he made in memos about U.S. regulators, By Thomas Ginsberg, Inquirer Staff Writer, ATLANTIC CITY - Merck & Co. Inc.'s former research chief, testifying by videotape yesterday, claimed his own insulting description of federal regulators in a 2001 e-mail was meant as a benign inside joke for colleagues. Edward Scolnick, now retired, sought to distance himself from his own caustic language in internal memos obtained by attorneys for Frederick "Mike" Humeston, 60, an Idaho postal worker and Vietnam War veteran, who contends that Vioxx caused his 2001 heart attack after just a few weeks of use.
October 13, 2005
Merck Faces Surge of New Vioxx Lawsuits, TRENTON, N.J., Oct. 13, 2005, (AP) Eight weeks after a Texas jury handed drug maker Merck & Co. a $253 million verdict in its first Vioxx product liability trial, the number of Vioxx lawsuits is rising like floodwater. More than 1,000 new Vioxx cases have been filed in New Jersey alone since late August, including 800 in September, and over 500 new cases are pending in federal court. Based on interviews by The Associated Press, Whitehouse Station-based Merck now faces well over 6,500 Vioxx lawsuits, up from about 5,000 in the company's last status report.
October 13, 2005
Merck scientist explains why data went unpublished, Says Vioxx didn't cause deaths, Thursday, October 13, 2005, BY JEFF MAY, Star-Ledger Staff, Merck did not publicize data about an increased risk of mortality for Vioxx users in two Alzheimer's studies because company scientists did not believe the painkiller was the cause, a researcher for the drugmaker testified yesterday.
October 11, 2005
Columbus Day brings break in Vioxx trial, Merck gets a breath in second Vioxx trail, Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/11/05, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, TRENTON — Monday's Columbus Day holiday gave Merck & Co. some extra time to regroup after Friday's setback in the Vioxx product liability trial. Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee struck the testimony of Merck researcher Dr. Briggs Morrison from the record, saying he was not an expert on the studies he had told the jury about Thursday, nor did Merck give the court sufficient notice about what he would discuss. Following Higbee's ruling Friday, Merck made its sixth request for a mistrial, saying that it is unfair to toss Morrison's testimony. Higbee issued her sixth denial.
October 10, 2005
Rough start for Merck defense, Analysts debate whether a courtroom shouting match will help the company in its second Vioxx trial, October 10, 2005: 7:04 PM EDTNEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co. Inc. has only started presenting its defense in the second Vioxx trial, but one thing seems 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 (up $1.05 to $26.90, Research) has a lot riding on the product liability trial under way in its home state of New Jersey. But experts say the drug company's lawyers may be struggling to regroup after New Jersey Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee on Friday threw out the testimony of Merck's first witness, research executive Briggs Morrison, prompting an unusual shouting match between the judge and a Merck lawyer.
October 10, 2005
Merck uses holiday to rethink defense strategy in New Jersey VIOXX case, Standard practice: Lawyers in class-action cases can craft their cases by seeing what other lawyers are up to, TRENTON, N.J. - Monday's Columbus Day holiday gave Merck & Co. some extra time to regroup after Friday's setback in the Vioxx product liability trial. Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee on Friday struck the testimony of Merck researcher Briggs Morrison from the record, saying he was not an expert on the studies he had told the jury about Thursday, nor did Merck give the court sufficient notice about what he would discuss.
October 9, 2005
Merck's defense starts on wrong foot, Drugmaker must rethink strategy, legal experts say, Sunday, October 09, 2005, BY GEORGE E. JORDAN, Star-Ledger Staff, It was no way for Merck to begin its defense in New Jersey's first Vioxx trial. The Atlantic City courtroom was thrown into chaos Friday when the testimony of Briggs Morrison, a Merck scientist and the drugmaker's first witness, was stricken entirely from the record. Before it was over, Merck lawyer Diane Sullivan was yelling at Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee and the judge was shouting back, threatening to have her removed from the courtroom.
October 8, 2005
Vioxx Trial Degenerates Into Shouting Match as Merck’s Attorneys Vociferously Challenge Judge’s Ruling to Strike Testimony of Key Defense Witness, Date Published: October 8, 2005, Source: Newsinferno.com News Staff, Instead of a dignified legal proceeding, the latest Vioxx trial has became a street fight between Merck’s attorneys and Judge Carol Higbee on Friday. The defense team’s frustration with the court’s rulings has been building since the week before the trial. At that time, Judge Higbee denied Merck’s motion to adjourn the trial on the ground that publicity from the $253 million Texas verdict against the company would have a prejudicial effect on the jury in New Jersey.
October 7, 2005
Judge strikes Merck witness testimony in Vioxx case, Fri Oct 7, 2005 12:26 PM ETBy Jon Hurdle, ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - The judge in the second Vioxx trial on Friday ordered that the testimony of Merck & Co. Inc.'s first defense witness be stricken from the record, saying he overstepped his role as a fact witness. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee said that the testimony on Thursday of Briggs Morrison, a vice president for Merck Research Labs, went "way beyond" his role as a witness of fact as had been stated by Merck's defense team. Merck is being sued by Frederick Humeston, an Idaho postal worker who blames the company's withdrawn painkiller Vioxx for his 2001 heart attack.
October 6, 2005
Plaintiffs' lawyers rest in Vioxx lawsuit, By Associated Press | October 6, 2005, ATLANTIC CITY -- Plaintiffs' lawyers in the nation's second lawsuit linking Merck's discontinued painkiller Vioxx to heart ailments rested their case yesterday after three weeks of testimony by 14 witnesses. Humeston's lawyers questioned staffers at the drug maker about delays in making internal concerns over Vioxx's heart risks public. The executives countered that they publicized risks they knew about and withdrew Vioxx from the market a year ago after new research indicated extended use could double the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
October 6, 2005
Scientist: Merck debated risks to the last minute, Marketing execs claim ignorance of management's concerns for Vioxx, Thursday, October 06, 2005, BY GEORGE E. JORDAN, Star-Ledger Staff, A former Merck scientist testified yesterday that senior company researchers and consultants debated Vioxx's heart-related health risks right up until the company asked the Food and Drug Administration for final permission to sell the drug.
October 4, 2005
Wife of Vioxx plaintiff recalls her fear during heart attack, Spouse describes its effects on her husband, says she's sure Merck's drug was the cause, Tuesday, October 04, 2005, BY GEORGE E. JORDAN, Star-Ledger Staff, Mary Humeston struggled to keep her composure yesterday as she recounted the night doctors and nurses rushed to treat her husband for a heart attack he claims was triggered by Vioxx.
October 4, 2005
Vioxx user's arteries called clean, Doctor says he saw no significant plaque buildup, By Bloomberg News | October 4, 2005, ATLANTIC CITY -- An Idaho postal worker who blames his 2001 heart attack on Merck & Co.'s Vioxx painkiller had large, ''pretty clean" coronary arteries when he entered the hospital, his emergency room cardiologist testified. Frederick Humeston had smooth arteries without significant buildup of plaque when he suffered a minor heart attack on Sept. 18, 2001, Dr. Graham Wetherly said at the second product liability trial over the drug. Merck blames Humeston's heart attack on conditions caused by his weight, blood pressure, and stress.
October 3, 2005
Summary of Vioxx litigation, Associated Press
TESTIMONY: Mary Humeston said her husband took 50 milligrams of Vioxx the day he had his heart attack. But under cross-examination, Humeston acknowledged she did not keep close tabs on when her husband took Vioxx or other painkillers. Dr. Graham Wetherley testified that aside from damage to a single vessel in the lower part of Mike Humeston's heart, the Idaho postal worker's heart vessels were healthy.
BACKGROUND: Humeston's suit is the second of about 5,000 product liability lawsuits over Vioxx to come to trial. Last month, a Texas jury found Merck liable for the death of a man who had taken Vioxx.
WHAT'S NEXT: Humeston's attorney's plan to rest their case Wednesday, following the Rosh Hashanah holiday. Merck will call its first witness Thursday.
October 3, 2005
Vioxx plaintiff's wife says he took drug the day of heart attack, By BONNIE PFISTER, Associated Press Writer, October 3, 2005, 6:42 PM EDT, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The wife of an Idaho postal worker who blames Vioxx for his 2001 heart attack told jurors Monday her husband took 50 milligrams of the popular arthritis drug the day she rushed him to the emergency room with chest pains. In the second product liability trial against Vioxx maker Merck & Co., Mary Humeston, married to Frederick "Mike" Humeston for 32 years, testified about his use of the Merck & Co. drug for ongoing pain related to shrapnel wounds sustained during combat in Vietnam.
October 3, 2005
Judge again denies mistrial in Vioxx case, 03 Oct 2005 16:54:55 GMT, By Jon Hurdle
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Oct 3 (Reuters) - A judge on Monday for a fifth time rejected a motion by lawyers for Merck & Co. Inc. <MRK.N> to declare a mistrial in a trial in which a man sued the company, claiming the Merck painkiller Vioxx caused his 2001 heart attack. Merck's attorneys, in their latest attempt to have a mistrial declared, based the motion on a witness not following instructions from the judge about mentioning during testimony that Vioxx had been pulled from the market.
October 3, 2005
Now it’s Merck’s turn, 10/03/05, By ANDRIA Y. CARTER, Trentonian Business Editor, TRENTON -- Plaintiff attorneys in the Vioxx product liability trial in Atlantic City are expected to wrap up their case as the fourth week testimony begins today. Boise, Idaho postal worker Frederick "Mike" Humeston filed a suit against Merck & Co. claiming the pain relief drug Vioxx caused his heart attack.
October 2, 2005
Alzheimer's studies add another disturbing dimension to Vioxx case, Sunday, October 02, 2005, BY ED SILVERMAN AND JEFF MAY, Star-Ledger Staff, When Merck yanked Vioxx last year, the drugmaker blamed links to heart attacks. But the Vioxx trial under way in Atlantic City has shone a spotlight on an equally disturbing finding -- a pair of studies in Alzheimer's patients that showed Vioxx users were more likely to die than patients given dummy pills.
October 1, 2005
Vioxx called 'anti-aspirin',Saturday, October 1, 2005, By CARY O'REILLY, BLOOMBERG NEWS, ATLANTIC CITY - Merck & Co.'s Vioxx painkiller acts as an "anti-aspirin," encouraging the formation of blood clots that can lead to heart attacks in patients who are under stress, a cardiologist told a jury Friday in Atlantic City.
September 30, 2005
Summary of developments in New Jersey VIOXX trial, The Associated Press, Friday, September 30, 2005.
WITNESSES: Dr. Nicholas DePace, a heart expert, resumed his direct examination by lawyers for Frederick "Mike" Humeston and was cross-examined by Merck lawyer Diane Sullivan.
TESTIMONY: DePace, who believes Vioxx caused Humeston's heart attack, acknowledged under cross-examination that Humeston was overweight and had some high blood pressure readings even though he was never classified as hypertensive. But he insisted that given Humeston's overall physical condition and clear arteries, there had to have been a "triggering event" - he contends it was Vioxx - that prompted the clot that choked off an artery, leading to Humeston's heart attack.
September 30, 2005
Cardiologist: Humeston did have risk factors for heart disease, By JOHN CURRAN, Associated Press Writer, September 30, 2005, 6:34 PM EDT, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A cardiology expert who says Vioxx may have caused a postal worker's heart attack acknowledged Friday that the man had some risk factors for heart disease and that thousands of Americans with no risk factors still have heart attacks every year. Attempting to establish other causes for Frederick "Mike" Humeston's Sept. 18, 2001 heart attack, Diane Sullivan, an attorney for Vioxx maker Merck & Co., showed jurors a document from Humeston's orthopedic doctor in which Humeston said his mother died of a heart attack. Humeston's doctors have said he had no family history of heart disease.
September 28, 2005
Summary of Wednesday's developments in Merck product liability trial, September 28, 2005, 6:47 PM EDT, Wednesday's developments at the Vioxx trial:
WITNESS: Frederick Humeston, the 60-year-old Idaho postal worker whose Sept. 18, 2001 heart attack spurred the case, testified for four hours about his history of knee problems, the events leading up to his heart attack and the effect it has had on his life.
TESTIMONY: The heart attack felt like nothing he'd ever experienced, he said. "It's a hard, crisp pain and it doesn't back off." Since then, he said, he has been weak and depressed and unable to enjoy hiking, tinkering with cars, home improvements and yard work. On cross-examination, Merck & Co. attorney Christy Jones showed medical records establishing that Humeston had a history of stress, was treated for heart palpitations in 1973 and was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse in 1981.
September 28, 2005
Vioxx plaintiff testifies about illness, By John Curran, Associated Press Writer | September 28, 2005, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. --A postal worker who blames his heart attack on Vioxx on Wednesday emotionally described how he went from feeling "bulletproof" to unmanly after his 2001 heart attack. Occasionally fighting back tears, Frederick "Mike" Humeston, a 60-year-old Vietnam veteran, said he began taking the Merck & Co. painkiller two months earlier
September 28, 2005
Plaintiff takes stand in Vioxx trial, Sep 28, 2005 — By Jon Hurdle, ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - A Vietnam War veteran who blames Merck & Co. Inc.'s Vioxx painkiller for his 2001 heart attack told jurors in sometimes emotional testimony on Wednesday that the attack left him depressed, exhausted and with an impaired sex life. Frederick "Mike" Humeston, 60, whose lawsuit against Merck is the second Vioxx case to go to trial, testified that, prior to his heart attack, he had a clean health record. The Idaho postal worker said he never smoked and had never been told by doctors to lose weight or reduce his cholesterol.
September 27, 2005
Summary of developments in New Jersey product liability case, September 27, 2005, 6:23 PM EDT, Tuesday's developments at the Vioxx trial:
WITNESS: Edward Scolnick, Merck's former chief scientist, testified via videotaped deposition played for jurors.
TESTIMONY: Scolnick, who retired from Merck in 2002, said Merck did not tell physicians or its sales representatives about the results of clinical studies among Alzheimer's patients in which Vioxx users died. On cross-examination, he said some deaths were from cancer and other causes, which Merck says is why the information was not widely distributed.
September 27, 2005
Ex-Merck official says doctors not shown Vioxx data, Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:46 PM, NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co. Inc.'s ex-research chief, in video testimony played for New Jersey jurors on Tuesday, acknowledged that data from studies on the effects of the painkiller Vioxx on Alzheimer's disease patients, showing an increased incidence of deaths, were not immediately disclosed to physicians.
September 27, 2005
Scientist: Vioxx Data Not Made Public, By JOHN CURRAN, Associated Press Writer, Tuesday, September 27, 2005(09-27) 16:58 PDT Atlantic City, N.J. (AP) , Alzheimer's disease patients who took Vioxx in two studies had higher death rates than those on a placebo, but Merck & Co. never notified physicians or its sales representatives, its former chief scientist conceded in testimony played in court Tuesday.
September 26, 2005
The VIOXX Story, Monday, September 26, 2005; Page A22, Regarding the accusations attorney Mark Lanier made in his Sept. 21 letter: Merck stands behind its scientific decisions and actions with respect to Vioxx. (Letter to the editor of the Washington Post from KENNETH C. FRAZIER, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Merck & Co., Whitehouse Station, N.J.
September 26, 2005
Merck executive defends negotiations over Vioxx with FDA, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (MarketWatch) -- A senior Merck & Co. (MRK) executive on Monday defended his company's negotiations with regulators that ultimately kept data about potential cardiovascular problems out of the warning section of Vioxx's label.
September 26, 2005 Merck exec testifies about battle over Vioxx warning label, By JOHN CURRAN, Associated Press Writer, September 26, 2005, 3:21 PM EDT, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Fearing a warning about Vioxx's cardiac risks would hurt the painkiller's sales, Merck & Co. battled with federal regulators for two years to keep the information out of the "warnings" section of the package insert, the company's top marketing official testified Monday.
September 25, 2005
Former Merck scientist becomes lightning rod, In Vioxx trial, Ed Scolnick is cast as driver of drugmaker's policy, Sunday, September 25, 2005, BY ED SILVERMAN, Star-Ledger Staff, As a cadre of plaintiffs' lawyers have portrayed Merck as a greedy and insensitive drugmaker, they have repeatedly made one man the face of the beleaguered company: Ed Scolnick.
September 24, 2005
Merck marketing executive questioned about "neutralize" campaign, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. A Merck marketing executive today defended the New Jersey-based company's monitoring of physicians who spoke out against Vioxx.
September 23, 2005
Vioxx Heart Attack Risk Higher than Previously Thought, Date Published: September 23, 2005, Source: Newsinferno.com News Staff, Expert witnesses continued to hammer away at Merck & Co as the latest Vioxx product liability trial moved through its second week. On Wednesday, Edward Scolnick, a former Chief Scientist for Merck, testified via videotape about an email he sent to a Merck colleague. The email stated his fear that Vioxx was causing strokes, heart attacks, and other health problems. He called for Merck to do a cardiovascular study to insure that the drug was safe. Such a study never took place.
September 22, 2005
Short-term Vioxx use can double heart attack risk, expert says, Associated Press, SEP. 22 3:58 P.M. ET Even short-term use of the painkiller Vioxx can double the risk of heart attack and death, a medical statistics expert testified Thursday in a product liability trial, a finding that manufacturer Merck & Co. misrepresented.
September 21, 2005
Former Merck Scientist Had Vioxx Concerns, 09.21.2005, 02:17 PM, A former chief scientist of Merck & Co. had lingering concerns about the cardiovascular safety of the company's painkiller Vioxx several years ago, according to a videotaped deposition played in court Wednesday in a Vioxx product liability trial.
September 20, 2005
Judge intervenes in testy Vioxx witness, lawyer exchanges, Sept 20, 2005 ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey Verbal jousting between a defense lawyer and a key plaintiff's witness escalated during a New Jersey trial over Merck's painkiller Vioxx.
September 20, 2005
Jurors hear of FDA researcher's concerns on Vioxx, Tuesday 20 September 2005, 6:59pm EST, By Jon Hurdle, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Sept 20 (Reuters) - The use of Merck & Co. Inc.'s painkiller Vioxx increased the incidence of heart disease in the United States by as much as 140,000 cases when it was on the market, a jury heard on Tuesday.
September 15, 2005
Vioxx trial judge warns of possible mistrial, Posted on: Thursday, 15 September 2005, 13:15 CDT, By Jon Hurdle, ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - A judge on Thursday admonished a lawyer for Merck & Co. Inc. for violating her earlier instructions to avoid negative comments about attorneys and warned of "repercussions" -- including a possible mistrial -- if such conduct continued.
September 15, 2005
Judge in second Vioxx case reprimands Merck lawyer, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Threatening to declare a mistrial, the judge hearing a product liability suit over painkiller Vioxx reprimanded manufacturer Merck and Co.'s lead lawyer Thursday for violating an order barring comments about lawyers in front of the jury.
September 15, 2005
Second Vioxx trial begins in New Jersey court, 9:04 AM ET, [JURIST] Opening statements began Wednesday in the second trial against Merck over the distribution of its painkiller Vioxx. The plaintiff in this case is an Idaho postal worker who claims that taking Vioxx caused him to suffer a heart attack.
September 14, 2005
Lawyer: Man Was Active Before Taking Vioxx, By JOHN CURRAN, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - A lawyer for a man who blames Vioxx for his heart attack told jurors Wednesday that the man had an active lifestyle but was stricken within two months of beginning to take the painkiller.
September 14, 2005
Vioxx trial opens as Merck accused of hiding risks, Wed Sep 14, 2005 3:32 PM ET, by Martha Graybow, ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - Merck & Co. Inc. knew of heart risks linked to its painkiller Vioxx but kept them from doctors and patients as it pursued big profits, a lawyer for a man who blames the drug for his heart attack said at the second Vioxx trial on Wednesday.
September 14, 2005
Second trial under way against Vioxx maker, The Associated Press/Atlantic City, N.J., By JOHN CURRAN , Sep. 14 10:34 A.M. ET A lawyer for a man who blames Vioxx for his heart attack told jurors Wednesday that the man led an active lifestyle before he began taking the painkiller but was stricken within two months as a result.
September 12, 2005
Second Vioxx trial begins, The Associated Press, Published: 09/12/05, PHILADELPHIA - The nation's second Vioxx trial will begin today in Atlantic City, pitting a Vietnam War veteran against the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company whose travails have reverberated across the industry, Wall Street and Congress.
September 12, 2005
Merck to Deny Any Vioxx Link to Heart Attack in Second Trial, Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Merck & Co., ordered last month to pay $253 million to a Vioxx user's widow, will argue in a second trial that opens today that its painkiller did not cause the heart attack of an ex-Marine.
September 11, 2005
Merck vows to press ahead with Vioxx defense, Sun Sep 11, 2005 4:45 PM BST, NEW YORK (Reuters) - On the eve of a second court battle over its arthritis drug Vioxx, Merck & Co. Inc. said on Friday it does not plan to enter into any global settlement of the thousands of Vioxx lawsuits it faces and is focused on "defending these cases one at a time."
September 11, 2005
Merck gears up for long Vioxx battle, By Christopher Bowe in New York, Published: September 11 2005 20:11, Merck will start with a potential bonus on Monday in its second trial over personal injury claims related to its withdrawn drug Vioxx, as the New Jersey state court could limit evidence the jury hears to determine negligence.
September 11, 2005
Vioxx case hits home, Sunday, September 11, 2005, By LEWIS KRAUSKOPF, STAFF WRITER, Starting Monday, lawyers, Wall Street analysts and former users of Vioxx will turn their eyes to a state court in Atlantic City. Jury selection begins in the first of nearly 2,500 product liability lawsuits filed in the court over the painkiller, which Merck & Co. withdrew from the market a year ago after a company study showed an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
September 9, 2005
Vioxx judge Bans use of 'inflammatory' words in drug-liability case, Friday, September 09, 2005, BY GEORGE E. JORDAN, Star-Ledger Staff, An Atlantic City judge yesterday barred lawyers and witnesses in the first Vioxx trial in New Jersey from using the words "ethics" or "morality" in discussing complex scientific issues and the liability of drugmaker Merck.
September 8, 2005
a href="http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/08/news/fortune500/vioxx/" target="_blank">Don't bet on Merck's homefield advantage, While drugmaker won't face anti-corporate hostility it did in Texas, jurors will still be skeptical, September 8, 2005: 5:11 PM EDT, By Aaron Smith, CNN/Money staff writer, NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - After falling flat on its face in the first Vioxx trial in Texas, Merck is likely to face a less hostile group of potential jurors when the drugmaker heads to court next week in its home state of New Jersey.
September 8, 2005
In pretrial hearing, Merck succeeds in blocking business ethics expert, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. An expert on business ethics won't be allowed to testify on behalf of a man who blames his heart attack on the painkiller Vioxx. The ruling came today from a judge in New Jersey, who'll preside over the product liability case against Merck.
September 7, 2005
Merck asks judge to ban cameras from Vioxx trial, Wed Sep 7, 2005, ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - A judge on Wednesday set a hearing for Friday on Merck & Co. Inc.'s request to ban live broadcasts from the courtroom during the Vioxx product liability trial scheduled to begin next week. The pharmaceutical company filed a motion on Tuesday asking New Jersey Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee to refuse a request by the Court TV cable network to broadcast from inside the courtroom during the trial.
September 4, 2005
a href="http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/09/04/D8CDLO300.html" target="_blank">Merck Faces War Hero in Next Vioxx Trial, By LINDA A. JOHNSON, AP Business Writer, TRENTON, N.J., Frederick "Mike" Humeston, long bothered by knee pain from a Vietnam War wound, had been taking the painkiller Vioxx for barely two months when he had a heart attack four years ago. Now 60, the postal worker and ex-Marine has permanent heart muscle damage, is constantly fatigued and worries about increased risk of a second heart attack, said Chris Seeger, one of his lawyers.
August 30, 2005
Stage set in NJ for second Vioxx trial, August 30, 2005, NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pretrial motions continued on Tuesday for the upcoming second product-liability trial involving Merck & Co.'s withdrawn arthritis drug, Vioxx, this time in a New Jersey state court. Jury selection for the new trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 12 in the Atlantic City courtroom of Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee.
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VIOXX Timeline | Chronology of Key Events
2005
Aug. 19, 2005 - Merck is found negligent in the marketing and design of Vioxx and is ordered to pay $229 million in punitive damages and $24 million for mental anguish and loss of companionship to the widow of a Texas man. The total award is expected to be cut to about $26 million because of Texas laws limiting damages.
Nov. 3, 2005 - Merck is exonerated in a New Jersey lawsuit involving a man who suffered a heart attack after taking Vioxx but survived. The case was the first tried of thousands of cases filed against Merck in the state.
Dec. 8, 2005 - The New England Journal of Medicine says Merck deleted dangers linked to Vioxx, including three heart attack deaths among users, in its analysis of the VIGOR study.
Dec. 12, 2005 - A U.S. judge declares a mistrial in the first federal lawsuit after a jury fails to reach a unanimous verdict in a case brought by the widow of a Florida man. The case is expected to be retried in 2006.
2004
Sept. 27, 2004 - Merck tells the FDA a study to see if Vioxx could prevent colon polyps showed twice the risk of heart attacks among patients taking Vioxx for 18 months as those who took placebos.
Sept. 28, 2004 - FDA officials meet with Merck, which tells the agency it will voluntarily withdraw Vioxx. Two days later Merck announces the withdrawal.
Nov. 18, 2004 - Congress holds hearing on Merck and the FDA's handling of the drug's safety issues.
2002
April 11, 2002 - FDA approves changes to Vioxx label which include cardiovascular risks, gastrointestinal benefits and a new use to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
2001
Feb. 2001 - FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee meets to discuss the gastrointestinal VIGOR study.
2000
March 2000 - Merck unveils data from Alzheimer's trials, which it said showed no difference in heart problems between patients on Vioxx and others taking a placebo.
June 2000 - Merck submits to the FDA final data from the VIGOR study, which it said showed a decrease in gastrointestinal problems but a four-fold higher risk of heart attacks compared with naproxen.
1999
Jan. 1999 - Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research (VIGOR) trial begins, aiming to show whether Vioxx causes fewer ulcers and other gastrointestinal problems than the standard arthritis treatment naproxen.
*Feb. 1999 - Merck begins first clinical trial of Vioxx to see whether it can treat Alzheimer's disease. A second trial begins in April 2000.
May 20, 1999 - FDA approves Vioxx for the relief of osteoarthritis symptoms, management of acute pain and primary dysmenorrhea, or painful menstruation.
1998
*Nov. 1998 - Merck files an application with the FDA seeking U.S. approval of Vioxx.
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