Merck & Co disappointed with New Jersey Court's decision in Vioxx case

USA-based drugmaker Merck & Co says it is disappointed with a New Jersey Court decision to award $9.0 million in punitive damages to John McDarby who had blamed his heart attack on the firm's COX-2 inhibitor Vioxx (rofecoxib). The court found that Merck & Co failed to provide adequate warning about risks associated with the drug, and that it misrepresented these to prescribing physicians. The claim of a second plaintiff, Thomas Cona, who said he had taken Vioxx for 22 months before his heart attack, was rejected by the jury on the basis that it could not be proved the drug was to blame (Marketletter April 10).