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An Illinois jury today found Merck & Co's withdrawn arthritis drug Vioxx did not cause a 52-year-old woman's fatal heart attack and awarded no damages in the case.
Plaintiff Frank Schwaller sued Merck after his wife, Patricia, took Vioxx for 20 months for shoulder pain before dying from a heart attack in August 2003.
The state court jury also found Merck adequately warned Schwaller's doctor about Vioxx's dangers and that the doctor knew of the risks.
Lawyers for Schwaller, from Granite City, Illinois, alleged that Vioxx was defectively designed, inadequately tested, dangerous to human health, and lacked proper warnings, which subjected users to risks of heart attacks, strokes and other illnesses.
Merck argued that Schwaller's preexisting risk factors -- a family history of heart disease, morbid obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and sedentary lifestyle -- were responsible for her sudden cardiac death.
"The combination of these risk factors put her at increased risk for sudden cardiac death, having nothing to do with Vioxx," said Dan Ball, Merck's lead attorney in the case.
The vote was unanimous from the seven-woman, five-man jury.
"We did see faults with Merck but nothing specific to the case at hand," juror Joyce Landre said. "Too much time was spent talking about everything other than Mrs. Schwaller's health."
Merck is facing more than 27,000 lawsuits from people who claim to have been harmed by the drug, which was pulled off the market in September 2004 after a study showed it doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients taking it for at least 18 months. At their peak, Vioxx's annual sales totaled USUS$2.5 billion.
The New Jersey-based drugmaker has vowed to fight each lawsuit on a case-by-case basis rather than enter into any broad settlement agreement.
In trials that have reached a jury verdict so far, Merck has won 10 and lost five.
"It's not difficult to find Merck did wrong," said plaintiff attorney Andy Birchfield, who is one of the main lawyers in the various suits against Merck. "The problem for plaintiff's attorneys is causation."
Merck shares were off 22 cents, or less than 1 per cent, at US$43.85 in midday trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
- REUTERS
