Merck & Company Settles Vioxx Claims for $4.85 Billion

In 2004, New Jersey - based drug maker Merck & Co. withdrew its arthritis drug, Vioxx from the market after data from a three-year colon-cancer clinical trial of 2,600 patients showed an increased risk of cardiovascular complications after 18 months of continuously taking it. The clinical trial VIGOR (Vioxx GI Outcome Research) compared 25-milligram of Vioxx dosage to placebo (dummy pills). Although the trial was intended mainly to test whether the drug could prevent recurrence of colon polyps, it was also meant to check on its long term safety.

During the 18 months of patients' intake of Vioxx, number of incidents of heart attack was comparable to those who were taking placebo. However, after 18 months of continuous intake, the number of heart attacks and strokes doubled on patients taking Vioxx.

Lawsuits started after the pull-out, accusing the company of misleading patients regarding the safety of Vioxx and then lawsuits for causing Myocardial Infarction (MI) and strokes among patients who took the drug also started pouring in. However, to counter the damage, Merck set up www.vioxx.com and hotline 1-888-36-VIOXX so everyone can get further information about the drug's withdrawal. The company claimed that it the pull out was done 'for the interest of the patients' and former Merck & Co. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Raymond Gilmartin said in a press conference that the company believed it was "the responsible action to take."

Three years after the infamous Vioxx pull out from the market, drug giant Merck & Co. has agreed to settle claims for a fixed amount of $4.85 billion in total and that payment is targeted to begin by August of 2008. The company has stressed that this is not a class-action settlement but rather an individual settlement that requires the individuals to come in so that their individual claims can be evaluated.

In their website, the company has issued the terms and conditions of this settlement. They are putting emphasis that they are only settling cases of Myocardial Infarction and Ischemic stroke claims and that they require objective documentation based on the medical records of patients during the time they actually had an MI or Ischemic stroke.

In general, all claimants will need to go through three different but very specific processes which are called 'gates'. First gate requires objective and medical proof of MI or Ischemic stroke. Second gate is based on documented receipt of no less than 30 Vioxx pills. The third and last gate requires receipt of pills 'in sufficient number and proximity to the event to support a presumption of ingestion within 14 days before the claimed injury.' The website also provides detailed conditions and guidelines of the entire settlement.

Furthermore, Merck & Co. through its executives and legal counsel insist that this settlement is not in any way an admission of guilt on the part of Merck but rather a product of negotiation by the parties after meeting with three of the four judges overseeing the coordination of more than 95% of the current claims in the Vioxx litigation.