A Texas jury found pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co liable on Friday for the death of a man who took the painkiller Vioxx, awarding his widow $253.4 million in damages.
The panel deliberated over two days before returning the verdict, but the damage award is likely to be cut to no more than $26.1 million because Texas law caps the punitive damages that made up the bulk of the total.
Jurors rejected Merck's argument that Robert Ernst, 59, died of clogged arteries rather than a Vioxx-induced heart attack that led to his fatal arrhythmia. Ernst, a produce manager at a Wal-Mart store, ran marathons and taught aerobics classes on the side.
Ernst called the verdict a ''wake-up call'' for pharmaceutical companies. ''This has been a long road for me,'' she told reporters later. ''But I felt strongly that this was the road I needed to take so other families wouldn't suffer the same pain I felt at the time.''
Merck pulled Vioxx, a $2.5 billion seller, from the market in September 2004 when a long-term study showed it could double risk of heart attack or stroke if taken for 18 months or longer. By then, more than 20 million Americans had taken the medicine, which along with Pfizer Inc.'s Celebrex - one of a class of Cox-2 inhibitor drugs once dubbed as super aspirin.
Vioxx inhibits an enzyme known as Cox-2, which thins the blood. That feature allows it and other drugs in its class - Pfizer's Bextra and Celebrex - to relieve acute pain and arthritis without causing stomach bleeds or ulcers, as painkillers such as aspirin can.
An FDA panel concluded in February that Vioxx, Celebrex and Bextra all pose heart risks but should be available to consumers. But in April, Pfizer withdrew Bextra from the market at the FDA's request when the agency said it carries risk of serious and sometimes fatal skin reactions in addition to heart attacks and strokes.
The FDA also said that all prescription nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs, not just Cox-2 inhibitors, should carry a so-called ''black box'' warning label about cardiovascular risk. Celebrex remains available to consumers.
Merck said it plans to appeal.
BackRelated news stories
- 18/08/2006: MERCK ORDERED TO PAY COMPENSATION TO VIOXX USER
- 24/04/2006: Judge rules Merck are liable for Vioxx side effects
- 11/04/2006: Judge to rule on whether UK citizens can make vioxx claims in the US
- 07/06/2005: Arthritis patients face 'postcode lottery'
- 12/04/2005: Bextra - Cox-2 drug withdrawn over skin concerns
- 04/04/2005: Arthritis drug can cause skin disease
- 21/02/2005: FDA votes to re-instate Vioxx in US
- 18/02/2005: Vioxx: US drug regulator deems Cox-2s unnecessary
- 14/02/2005: Vioxx linked to heart attacks and strokes
- 12/01/2005: Alternative treatments should be considered for patients prescribed COX-2 inhibitors
- 09/01/2005: Vioxx - Further concerns over withdrawn arthritis drug
- 22/12/2004: Vioxx Legal Advice
- 01/10/2004: Vioxx arthritis drug is withdrawn over safety fears
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