Vioxx

Vioxx Settlement Totals $4.85 Billion

Ury & Moskow LLC is pleased to announce that Merck & Co. has reached an $4.85 billion agreement to resolve the Vioxx litigation. Thousands of lawsuits have been launched against Merck since the company revealed a link between Vioxx and an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, and subsequently withdrew the drug from the market. If 85% of current claimants accept the proposed settlement, the fixed amount will be split between the claimants based on the merits of the individual case. At Ury & Moskow LLC, we are actively prosecuting cases on behalf of individuals who were injured by Vioxx and who suffered a heart attack or stroke. For more information about the proposed settlement, please visit http://www.officialvioxxsettlement.com/.

In June 2000, Merck (the manufacturer of Vioxx) submitted to FDA a safety study called VIGOR (Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research) that found an increased risk of serious cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and strokes, in patients taking Vioxx compared to patients taking naproxen. Although FDA required labeling changes to reflect the findings from the VIGOR study, the results of the study were confounded by the possible beneficial effects of naproxen and Merck did little to clarify the potential dangers of Vioxx.

On September 30, 2004, Merck announced a voluntary worldwide withdrawal of Vioxx. The Company's decision was based on APPROVe (Adenomatous Polyp Prevention on VIOXX) trial. The study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of VIOXX 25mg in preventing recurrence of colorectal polyps in patients with a history of colorectal adenomas. In this study, there was an 400% increase in the incidence of cardiovascular (CV) events, such as heart attack and stroke, beginning after 18 months of treatment in the patients taking VIOXX compared to those taking placebo.

Subsequent articles in the New England Journal of Medicine note that Cox-2 Inhibitors "have been aggressively marketed directly to consumers in the United States and have rapidly dominated the prescription-drug market for NSAIDs, accounting for worldwide sales of roughly $10 billion" and one commentator concluded: "Sadly, it is clear to me that Merck's commercial interest in rofecoxib sales exceeded its concern about the drug's potential cardiovascular toxicity. Had the company not valued sales over safety, a suitable trial could have been initiated rapidly at a fraction of the cost of Merck's direct-to-consumer advertising campaign." Congress reacted to the Vioxx situation by enacting tough new laws to help the FDA better regulate drugs like Vioxx and curtail some of the marketing abuses of companies that promote their drug products too aggressively.