Second trial on Merck’s painkiller Vioxx begins

The case, Humeston v. Merck, comes to trial almost one month after a jury in Angleton, Tex., ordered Merck to pay $253 million in damages to Carol Ernst, whose husband died after taking Vioxx for eight months.

This time, instead of a widow, Merck is being sued by a 60-year-old Idaho postal worker who took Vioxx for only a short time and sustained a mild heart attack that he survived.

Frederick Humeston asserts that Vioxx caused his heart attack in September 2001. The case is being tried in a New Jersey state court before Judge Carol E. Higbee, who is overseeing at least 2,400 lawsuits that have been filed in New Jersey against Merck, which is based in Whitehouse Station, N.J.

The man had other risk factors for heart attacks, including stress and obesity, and took Vioxx for only two months before his heart attack, according to lawyers for the company. 

However, Merck has said there is no medical or scientific evidence that Vioxx contributed to Mr. Humeston's heart attack, as its own studies disclosed heart risks from Vioxx only after long-term use. 

Merck’s six jurors, along with four alternates, are hearing the lawsuit in the civil courthouse of Atlantic County Superior Court. A verdict would require agreement among five of the six jurors. As in the Texas case, the plaintiff's lawyers will point to documents that show Merck was concerned about Vioxx's heart risks even before it began selling the drug. 

At least 5,000 people have already sued Merck, asserting that Vioxx caused them to suffer heart attacks and strokes, and lawyers say that they expect at least 25,000 suits to be filed eventually. About 20 million people took Vioxx between May 1999 and September 2004, when Merck stopped selling the drug after a clinical trial showed that Vioxx caused heart attacks and strokes in patients taking it for at least 18 months.

Analysts have estimated that Merck, the third-largest American drug maker, could eventually be forced to pay as much as $50 billion to settle Vioxx lawsuits if juries continue to rule against it. Since Merck stopped selling Vioxx, its stock has fallen almost 40 percent, cutting nearly $40 billion from the company's market value. In May, Raymond V. Gilmartin, Merck's chairman and chief executive, resigned under pressure.

BY OUR PHARMA CORRESPONDENT