Lawsuits

Merck to pay $58 million in Vioxx deceptive advertising settlement

Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. agreed to pay $58 million to settle lawsuits brought by 29 states and the District of Columbia regarding Merck's allegedly deceptive advertising for the painkiller Vioxx.

Under the settlement, Merck agreed to submit all future TV commercials for its drugs to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval and to implement all FDA-recommended changes.

The company is also barred from "ghostwriting," a practice in which companies generate positive press designed to appear as if it came from an unbiased outside source.

Merck has been involved in a stream of Vioxx-related litigation during the last few years, including state and federal lawsuits in Louisiana, New Jersey, and California.

In September 2007, the New Jersey Supreme Court dismissed a class action lawsuit filed against Merck, reversing a lower court's decision to grant nationwide class certification in the case.

In November 2007, Merck said that it had agreed to pay $4.85 billion to settle all pending lawsuits regarding its marketing and distribution of Vioxx.

(Published by Jurist 21, 2008)