Published on February 16, 2005 at 6:06 PM
The federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation today granted motions by several parties, including Merck, to transfer all Vioxx product liability lawsuits pending in federal courts nationwide into one consolidated Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) for coordinated pre-trial proceedings.
The product liability cases, now designated as “MDL 1657-In re Vioxx Product Liability Litigation,” include all federal cases involving personal injury or economic losses arising from the use and/or purchases of Vioxx. Those cases are being transferred to the United States District Court in Eastern District for Louisiana before Federal District Judge Eldon E. Fallon.
The company is still awaiting a decision from the panel with respect to the shareholder suits, designated as “MDL 1658-In re Merck & Co., Inc., Securities, Derivative & ‘ERISA’ Litigation.”
With respect to the product liability cases, designated as “MDL 1657-In re Vioxx Product Liability Litigation,” Judge Eldon E. Fallon will now set the schedule for pre-trial matters.
Merck intends to vigorously defend itself. Merck acted responsibly every step of the way – from researching the drug prior to approval – to monitoring the drug while it was on the market and – to voluntarily withdrawing the drug when it did. Merck based its decisions on the data from well controlled clinical trials and acted in the best interest of patients.
Vioxx (rofecoxib) was commonly used for patients with rheumatoid or osteoarthritis.
http://www.merck.com