Patients Worldwide Set to Sue Merck

With about 4,000 suits already filed in the US, lawyers across the globe are preparing claims for people who had heart attacks or strokes after taking Vioxx.

Last week, a jury in Texas found Merck liable in the death of Robert Ernst, and voted to award US$253.5 million to his widow, Carol. Jurors said they concluded that Merck was long aware of Vioxx's potential heart risks but concealed the risks from patients. While there are about 4,000 lawsuits pending in the US, there are potentially many more around the world, especially in Europe, where Vioxx, used to relieve the pain of arthritis, was extremely popular. In the Texas case, state rules on punitive damages would limit Ernst's total award to US$26.1 million, and that could be reduced further on appeal. Still, if other cases go against Merck, the litigation could collectively become the biggest medical product liability action in history, exceeding in scope and economic effect the thousands of lawsuits associated with silicone breast implants in the 1990s, which drove their US manufacturer, Dow Corning, to file for bankruptcy protection.

About 20 million people took Vioxx, which was the subject of an aggressive promotional campaign by Merck. In the US, Merck spent US$500 million from 2000 until last year advertising directly to patients.

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