Another Vioxx win for Merck & Co

A jury in Madison County, Illinois, USA, has found in favor of Merck & Co, rejecting a claim that the company was liable for the death of an Illinois woman.

Frank Schwaller, who represents the estate of his wife, Patricia Schwaller, alleged that she used Vioxx (rofecoxib) for more than one-and-a-half years and that it caused her death in 2003 at age 52.

"The evidence showed that Merck acted responsibly and that Vioxx was not the cause of Mrs Schwaller's sudden cardiac death," said Dan Ball of the law firm Bryan Cave, Merck's lead attorney in the case. "Unfortunately, Mrs. Schwaller had multiple risk factors for sudden cardiac death including a family history of heart disease, as well as diabetes, high blood pressure and morbid obesity. The combination of these risk factors put her at increased risk for sudden cardiac death, having nothing to do with Vioxx."