Judge calls $50M damages in Vioxx case "excessive"

A US Federal judge has ordered a retrial in US drug major Merck & Co's most recent legal defeat relating to the withdrawn painkiller Vioxx (rofecoxib). Judge Eldon Fallon upheld the original verdict but described the $50.0 million damages award as "grossly excessive." He added that the new trial will decide the level of damages that the plaintiff, a former FBI agent who suffered a heart attack in 2002 after taking the drug for two and a half years, is entitled to receive. Media reports show that opinion is divided as to whether the retrial decision is a positive outcome for Merck, with some groups claiming that it is a vindication of the firm's case-by-case defence strategy. Others, including lawyer Robert Gordon, who has successfully represented plaintiffs in Vioxx cases, said that the liability verdict was the most critical aspect.