Merck & Co wins 12th Vioxx case

US drug major Merck & Co has won the 12th federal law suit seeking damamges over its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx (rofecoxib). A New Orleans jury found in favor of Merck, rejecting a claim that the drug caused the 2003 heart attack of a then 47-year-old Tennessee man. In the case, Anthony Wayne Dedrick claimed he took Vioxx for approximately six months before his heart attack. "The jury determined that Merck acted appropriately in the development and marketing of Vioxx and that Vioxx did not substantially contribute to Mr Dedrick's heart attack," said Phil Beck, Merck's lead trial lawyer in the case.