24 octobre, 2006 16:17

Texas Woman Drops Lawsuit Over Vioxx

10.24.2006, 01:38 PM

A plaintiff in one of thousands of lawsuits against Merck & Co. over its now withdrawn pain reliever Vioxx has dropped her lawsuit two weeks before her trial was to begin, the company announced Tuesday.

Merck said it was the fourth case set for trial in a statewide legal proceeding in Texas where the plaintiff has dropped out or the case has been dismissed before the trial.

A trial around Sharon Rigby's claims was scheduled to begin Nov. 8. The company said Rigby claimed Vioxx caused her heart attack even though she was a smoker, had other risk factors for heart attacks and was suing another pharmaceutical company.

More than 23,800 lawsuits alleging injuries caused by Vioxx have been filed, the majority of them in New Jersey, where Merck is based. Merck pulled Vioxx from the market two years ago after a study found it increased patients risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Other trials are scheduled to begin next week in Louisiana and California.

A trial involving eight plaintiffs is scheduled to begin in January in Atlantic City. Late Monday, Merck filed a motion requesting a different format for the cases, arguing that having eight plaintiffs' claims being tried simultaneously would "invite pure legal error and result in an unmanageable and unfair trial."

In midday trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Merck fell 9 cents to $45.61.