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Vioxx: Company
built 450 days ago
Vioxx litigation is under fierce scrutiny from pharmaceutical companies, lawyers, consumers and corporate officials trying to predict the outlook for Merck, the maker of Vioxx. The company vowed to fight more than 4,200 state and federal Vioxx-related lawsuits pending across the country.
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At the center of every Vioxx lawsuit will be debate between the parties about when Merck knew about the dangers of Vioxx. Documents recently uncovered reveal the company knew about serious Vioxx side effects as early as March 2000.
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While Merck CEO gloats over the fact that they have not paid a single penny to any of the families of 60,000 Americans who have died after taking Vioxx, the company’s chief counsel, Ken Frazier, put it in the starkest terms. “Heart attacks are, unfortunately, a leading cause of death in the United States and have multiple causes,” he said. In other words, with two out of three Americans being either obese/overweight (and suffering from all kinds of problems related to cholesterol, diabestes, heart diseases, etc.), it is simply a piece of cake to argue that the victim “would have suffered a heart attack whether he was taking Vioxx or not” as Merck puts it.
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Merck happens to have a Vioxx classmate called Arcoxia in the wings. It is sold in 47 countries but not yet in the USA. The company expects to hear about its application to the FDA by month's end, spokesman Christopher Loder says.
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Merck hurt the Dow, dropping 4.5 percent to $34.38 after a $4.5 million court decision against the pharmaceutical company regarding side effects of its drug Vioxx. The loss increased the chances that more lawsuits would be filed against the company.
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