Merck puts an end to state probes on Vioxx
Merck & Co Inc announced last week Tuesday it will make a $58 million settlement to resolve state investigations into its withdrawn painkiller, Vioxx. The payment is to be shared by 29 states and the District of Columbia.
This concludes previous probes of Vioxx marketing campaigns under state consumer protection laws.
Merck recalled the highly profitable drug (it earned a purported $2.5 billion a year) in September 2004 after a study found it doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who took Vioxx for at least a year and a half. By that time, the pain medication had been consumed by 20 million Americans.
In November, Merck agreed to pay $4.85 billion to settle most of the claims that Vioxx caused heart attacks and strokes in thousands of users. At the time the settlement announcement, Merck was facing some 26,600 lawsuits.
Last month Merck said that it had taken a pretax charge of $55 million in the first quarter in anticipation of the settlement.
“Today’s agreement enables Merck to put this matter behind us and focus on what Merck does best, developing new medicines,” Bruce Kuhlik, Merck’s general counsel, said in a statement.
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