Two More Vioxx Appeals Wins for Merck

Merck (MRK Quote - Cramer on MRK - Stock Picks) continued Thursday on a streak of favorably reversed court decisions related to Vioxx. Two courts -- one in New Jersey and one in Texas -- reversed prior award allocations to plaintiffs.

Vioxx, a controversial painkiller, was pulled from the market in 2004 after research showed it increased the risk of heart attack and stroke. Merck has since entered into an agreement to settle, for $4.85 billion, the majority of claims filed before Nov. 9, 2007. The money will go into a resolution fund.

Of 18 cases that went to trial, there are now three with outstanding product liability judgments against Merck.

The Texas case overturned Thursday was the first Vioxx suit to go to trial, originally awarding $250 million (which was reduced to $26 million) to the widow of Robert Ernst, who died after taking the drug for fewer than nine months.

Chief Justice Adele Hedges, writing for a unanimous panel, said in the ruling, "we find no evidence that Ernst suffered a thrombotic cardiovascular event, i.e., a myocardial infarction triggered by a blood clot. Accordingly, appellee failed to show that ingestion of Vioxx caused her husband's death."

The Lanier Law Firm, which represented Mrs. Ernst, said on Thursday that it plans to appeal the decision.

The verdict on the Cona and McDarby cases was a partial win for Merck. The New Jersey appellate court found that in one case Vioxx didn't cause a heart attack, but in another case it did -- overturning $9 million of $14 million awarded in 2006.

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