The New York Times, "Vioxx Trials May Clear Up Merck Picture"

          The financial future of Merck & Co. should start to become clearer in the coming weeks as the first of what promises to be hundreds of trials begins over claims that the drug maker's Vioxx pain medication contributed to patient' death or disability.
          Vioxx was pulled from the market last Sept. 30. Analysts have estimated that Merck's potential liability could soar to as high as $18 billion if plaintiff lawyers can successfully prove Vioxx caused their client's death or injury and that Merck knew about the drug's potentially lethal side effects and sold it anyway.
          But before the first trial can start, Clay County Circuit Court Judge John Rochester in Ashland, Ala., 90 miles northeast of the Alabama state capital, must decide whether Cheryl Rogers' claim can proceed.
          Rogers insists the Vioxx her 42-year old husband took caused his death. Merck says Rogers is a liar, arguing in court documents that the pills she claimed he took didn't leave the company until six months after he died.
          Rogers' lawyer, Andy Birchfield, can't explain the pill issue, but said numerous witnesses, including a pastor's wife, will testify her husband was taking Vioxx when he died.
          A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday on Merck's request that Rogers' wrongful death case be dismissed. If Rochester rules the trial should proceed, it is slated to begin on May 23.
          Merck removed Vioxx from the market after a study found it doubled the risk of heart attack and strokes in patients taking it for more than 18 months. That opened the lawsuit floodgates; more than 2,400 have been filed so far.
          A string of plaintiff victories could push Merck into an expensive settlement and act as a magnet for additional cases. Plaintiff triumphs could also set precedents establishing that Vioxx causes cardiovascular problems and that Merck acted recklessly in promoting it, lawyers said.
          Plaintiff lawyers claim there is ample evidence Merck ignored early signs of Vioxx's side effects and sold it anyway -- much of it still under seal. Included in their public arsenal: numerous studies showing that Vioxx increases heart attacks and strokes and a Food and Drug Administration letter warning Merck about its characterizations of Vioxx's cardiovascular safety.
          Vioxx accounted for $2.5 billion of Merck's 2003 sales, and analysts estimate the drug provided 15 percent of Merck's profit that year.