South African Vioxx victims sue Merck in the US

The law firm that is spearheading Vioxx litigation from almost all vicims overseas has announced yet another lawsuit againt Merck. This time it is the victims in South Africa who have filed a class action lawsuit against the drugmaker that has admitted in court hearings that it knew about deaths of some users as early as 2000 but did not inform physicians unless they specifically asked about it. The drug was recalled only on September 30, 2004.

David Anstice, a Merck executive said last week that the company met its legal obligation to inform the FDA about data on deaths of people in several study trials, one known as VIGOR and others on people with Alzheimer's disease. Those studies found many more people on Vioxx than other pain-relievers died from a variety of causes, including heart attack. However, since it was not required to report that data voluntarily to patients and doctors, it continued to aggressively market the drug even as people worldwide were dying. And by exploiting the legal loopholes, not only did Merck abuse the FDA, it also ignored warnings from the agency when it did act. At the same time, the company also continued to intimidate anyone who questioned the safety of Vioxx.

Related article: Merck is still deceiving everyone about Vioxx