Merck shareholder lawsuits to be tried in New Jersey
The federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation granted motions by several parties, including Merck, to transfer all Vioxx shareholder suits pending in federal courts nationwide into one consolidated Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) for coordinated pre-trial proceedings. It is important to understand that these lawsuits are different than those filed by arthritis patients who claim to have been injured by Vioxx. As previously reported, these Vioxx product liability cases are scheduled to be tried at the Eastern District Court of Louisiana before District Judge Eldon E. Fallon.
According to an estimate by AP, Merck is facing approximately 700 lawsuits from patients who claim that they have been seriously injured after taking Vioxx. In three days of hearings by a FDA panel, the decision was unanimous that Vioxx indeed raised the risk of heart attacks and strokes but the panel still recommended that Vioxx sales be allowed to resume in the United States. (Related article: Making sense of FDA panel recommendations on Vioxx, Celebrex, and Bextra)
Vioxx attorneys claim that total number of plaintiffs could run into tens of thousands, and a previous FDA estimate puts the number of Americans injured by Vioxx at 140,000. No accurate estimates are available for injuries outside the US but drug agencies in the European Union, Australia, Germany, and New Zealand have placed strong restrictions on prescriptions of Cox-2 drugs that are still on the market (Celebrex, Bextra, Arcoxia, Mobic, Dynastat, and their brand name variations).
Merck has announced its intention to market Vioxx again in consultation with the FDA in the United States. It is not known what will happen to Vioxx in other countries and how drug regulators in these countries will respond to FDA's decision to allow sales of Vioxx.
Merck shareholders have also filed lawsuits against the company in the Vioxx case claiming that Merck's handling of Vioxx recall has hurt its stock price. The shareholder cases, now designated as “MDL 1658-In re Merck & Co., Inc., Securities, Derivative & ‘ERISA’ Litigation,” include all federal securities, shareholder derivative and ERISA actions. Those cases are now being transferred to the United States District Court for New Jersey before District Judge Stanley Chesler, who will now set the schedule for pre-trial matters.
Merck is also facing lawsuits in other countries around the world. Analysts do not believe that resumption of Vioxx sales is likely to benefit Merck much. The company is also being investigated by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Related news today:
Louisiana Medicaid program restricts prescriptions of Celebrex and Bextra
