Merck to Settle in Vioxx Case

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Merck will announce a settlement in the ongoing vioxx cases in the amount of 4.85 billion dollars. Vioxx was one of the top earning drugs for Merck, pulling in a reportedly 2.5 billion dollars. The drug was approved for use in 1999 and was pulled from the market in 2004 after studies show patients who were on the drugs are at risk of developing heart attacks and strokes.

There were more than a thousand complaints and lawsuits against this drug. 11 cases were taken to trial and lost 5.