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By Robert Green

TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida jury on Friday found Merck & Co's withdrawn painkiller Vioxx did not cause a former professional soccer player's heart attack and that the company did not conceal safety risks associated with the medicine.

After a three-week trial in the Circuit Court of Hillsborough County, the six-member jury took just two hours to hand Merck a victory on all counts.

The jury also found that Merck was not negligent and did not fail to provide adequate warnings about Vioxx heart risks.

The plaintiff, 56-year-old Refic Kozic, blamed Vioxx for his 2001 heart attack at the age of 50. He had used the drug for nine weeks for knee pain.

"We believe the evidence showed that Merck acted responsibly and that Vioxx was not the cause of Mr. Kozic's heart attack," said Mike Brock, one of Merck's attorneys.

"We believe that Mr. Kozic's long-standing cardiovascular disease caused his heart attack," Brock said. "Evidence showed he had significant atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease."

Merck pulled the once-$2.5 billion-a-year medicine from the market in 2004 after a study showed it doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients taking it for more than 18 months.

The company has argued in trials that there is no scientific evidence of increased heart risk prior to 18 months of use, although some studies have suggested that the elevated risk may begin much earlier.

The New Jersey-based drugmaker is facing more than 27,000 lawsuits from people who claim to have been harmed by the widely used arthritis and pain medicine.

This was the first Vioxx case in Florida to go to trial. Juries have decided in Merck's favor 11 times and for plaintiffs five times in Vioxx cases that have reached jury verdicts.

Merck has repeatedly said it intends to fight each case on a case-by-case basis rather than consider any broad settlement.

Merck shares were up 91 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $53.77 on the New York Stock Exchange.