US firm Merck wins Vioxx lawsuit
US pharmaceutical giant Merck said it had won a lawsuit brought by a Kentucky man who claimed four months of using the pain killer Vioxx had caused a heart attack.
By Agencies |
WHITEHOUSE STATION (US): US pharmaceutical giant Merck said it had won a lawsuit brought by a Kentucky man who claimed four months of using the pain killer Vioxx had caused a heart attack.
"The jury's decision confirms that Merck acted responsibly and that Vioxx was not the cause of (Robert Gary) Smith's heart attack," said Philip Beck, Merck's lead lawyer in the case, which was tried in federal court in New Orleans.
"Merck has now won two out of three federal Vioxx cases," the Whitehouse Station-based company said in a statement late yesterday.
This was the 10th Vioxx case that has gone to trial out of no fewer than 14,000 lawsuits filed against Merck over its drug. To date, the company has won five and lost four cases. The tenth case has been sent to retrial.
Merck yanked Vioxx from the market in September 2004 after a clinical study showed that patients who took the drug for 18 months or longer ran a higher risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.
Vioxx, an anti-inflammatory agent, was used primarily to treat arthritis and injuries.
"The jury's decision confirms that Merck acted responsibly and that Vioxx was not the cause of (Robert Gary) Smith's heart attack," said Philip Beck, Merck's lead lawyer in the case, which was tried in federal court in New Orleans.
"Merck has now won two out of three federal Vioxx cases," the Whitehouse Station-based company said in a statement late yesterday.
This was the 10th Vioxx case that has gone to trial out of no fewer than 14,000 lawsuits filed against Merck over its drug. To date, the company has won five and lost four cases. The tenth case has been sent to retrial.
Merck yanked Vioxx from the market in September 2004 after a clinical study showed that patients who took the drug for 18 months or longer ran a higher risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.
Vioxx, an anti-inflammatory agent, was used primarily to treat arthritis and injuries.
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