Court Opens Possibility of Class Action against Merck

By Nathan Abbott

Published on January 16, 2007

In the midst of tens of thousands of pending lawsuits over the withdrawn arthritis drug Vioxx, pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. now faces another potential threat: a class-action suit from former Vioxx patients who were not even injured by the drug.

A three-judge appellate court panel in New Jersey has ordered a lower court to reconsider the merits of a class-action suit on behalf of patients who took Vioxx for at least six consecutive weeks. The suit seeks to create a court-administered screening program, funded by Merck, which would provide screening for potential heart problems in former Vioxx patients. The panel decided that the court had prematurely terminated the plaintiff’s chance to prove they had a legal claim.

Lawyers for Merck noted that this ruling does not change anything, only instructs the lower court to reconsider the claim. Merck is also considering asking the New Jersey Supreme Court to review the appellate ruling.

The news comes as jury selection begins in the latest Vioxx trial in New Jersey, including a retrial for a heart attack survivor who lost his first case and was granted a new case based on new evidence. Merck currently faces over 27,000 lawsuits.

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