Vioxx Settlement In Us

Merck Agrees to Blanket Settlement on Vioxx
 
Merck & Co. agreed to pay $4.85 billion to settle thousands of cases brought by people who suffered heart attacks and strokes after taking its Vioxx painkiller, validating a forceful defense strategy in one of the nation’s largest and most widely publicized drug recalls. Vioxx, which averaged $2.5 billion in sales a year, was yanked from the market three years ago over widespread concern about its safety. The drug more than doubled the risks of heart attacks and strokes among patients who used it to ease arthritis pain, according to clinical studies. One scientist estimated that it had caused as many as 138,000 heart attacks and 55,000 deaths in the United States. Merck sales teams for years played down the dangers of Vioxx, and a Food and Drug Administration official said he had been pressured to keep quiet about his concerns, according to congressional testimony."

Carrie Johnson, Washington Post, 11-10-07
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/09/AR2007110900597.html