Merck & Co to pay $4.85B to resolve Vioxx suits

US drug major Merck & Co says that it has entered into an agreement to settle US law suits already filed against the company over its COX-2 arthritis painkiller Vioxx (rofecoxib), which was withdrawn from the market after it was found to increase the risk of heart attacks three years ago (Marketletters passim).

The deal, which also applies to tolled claims, was signed by the parties on November 9 after they met with three of the four judges overseeing the coordination of more than 95% of the current claims in the Vioxx litigation. If certain conditions are met, Merck will pay a fixed amount of $4.85 billion into a settlement fund for qualifying claims that enter into the resolution process.

The conditions include that, to qualify, claimants will have to pass three criteria: injury requiring objective, medical proof of myocardial infarction or ischemic stroke (as defined in the accord); duration of use based on documented receipt of at least 30 Vioxx pills; and proximity requiring receipt of pills in sufficient number and near to the event to support a presumption of ingestion of Vioxx within 14 days before the claimed injury.