Vioxx Mistrial

The first federal lawsuit case against Merek & Co. has ended in a mistrial. Jury members were unable to reach a verdict. This is good and bad news for Merck & Co:

Judge declares mistrial in federal Vioxx case
Jurors deadlocked in federal trial against pain drug maker Merck

Updated: 3:08 p.m. ET Dec. 12, 2005
HOUSTON - A judge declared a mistrial Monday in the first federal lawsuit over the once-popular painkiller Vioxx after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

Merck & Co. emerged from its third Vioxx trial Monday with a hung jury when the panel failed, in about 18 hours of deliberations over three days, to side with the drug maker or with the wife of a 53-year-old Florida man who died after taking Vioxx for about a month.

The mistrial means Merck, which already had a one and one record in Vioxx litigation, was unable to gain any momentum in its battle against thousands of other expected lawsuits related to the drug, which was withdrawn from the market last year after being linked to cardiovascular problems.

Full Article