Vioxx costs see Merck & Co swing to $1.6B loss
US drug major Merck and Co swung to a loss in the fourth quarter of 2007 after it was hit by a number of charges, including litigation costs related to its withdrawn arthritis painkiller Vioxx (rofecoxib; Marketletter passim).
The New Jersey-headquartered firm's deficit totaled $1.6 billion, or $0.75 per share, after it took anticipated charges including an $4.85 billion to settle law suits for patients who sued the firm over Vioxx side effects.
Excluding these extraordinary costs, Merck would have seen net income of $0.80 per share, which would have beaten the $0.73 per share average from a Bloomberg analyst survey. Merck reported $473.9 million in net income in fourth-quarter 2007.
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