Pharma investors turn wary after huge Vioxx award

"International investors turned wary on pharmaceutical stocks on Monday after a $253 million award against Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) over its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx.

"Drug shares were the biggest fallers on European markets by mid-session as the verdict by a Texas jury set alarm bells ringing about product liability risk across the industry. [Reuters]

$365m Vioxx award buoys lawyer for NZ patients

"A $365 million award against a drug company over the discredited painkiller Vioxx is encouraging for New Zealanders planning to sue the company, a lawyer says." [NZ Herald]

Reuters Business Channel | Reuters.com

"Shares of Merck & Co. fell on Monday as investors assessed the liability the company must overcome after a $253 million jury award, the first of possibly thousands of lawsuits it faces over pain killer Vioxx.

"Merck was off 54 cents, or 1.92 percent, at $27.52 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange." [Reuters]

Texas jury finds Merck liable for Vioxx

"In a landmark decision for the drug industry, a Texas jury has found Merck & Co. liable in the sudden cardiac death of a man who had used the company's recalled drug Vioxx, awarding the man's widow $253.4 million in damages.

"In a statement released after the verdict, Merck said that it was 'disappointed' by the verdict and planned to appeal." [MarketWatch]

Chronology-Key events in the development of Vioxx

"A jury on Friday found Merck & Co. (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) liable in the death of a Texas man, in the first civil trial against the company's popular painkiller Vioxx.

"A timeline of the drug's history follows:" [Reuters]

Merck shares fall after jury finds it liable in first Vioxx trial

"Shares of Merck & Co. fell Friday immediately after a Texas jury found the pharmaceutical giant liable in the first trial involving a death linked to its Vioxx painkiller. The man's widow was awarded $253.4 million in damages.

"Although Whitehouse Station-based Merck plans an appeal, the uncertainty from thousands of other cases pending around the nation will be a drag on share price, said analyst Jon LeCroy at Natexis Bleichroeder Inc." [Newsday.com]

Jury awards widow $253.4M in Vioxx trial

"A Texas jury found pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. liable Friday for the death of a man who took the once-popular painkiller Vioxx, awarding his widow $253.4 million in damages in the first of thousands of lawsuits pending across the country

"A seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated for 10 1/2 hours over two days before returning the verdict. Merck said it plans to appeal.

"Mrs. Ernst began to cry when the verdict was read while her attorneys jumped up and shouted, 'Amen!'" [BusinessWeek Online]

Merck Is Found Liable for Man's Death in Vioxx Trial

"Merck & Co. must pay more than $253 million to the family of a Texas man who died after taking the company's Vioxx painkiller, a jury ruled in the first personal-injury case over the drug to come to trial.

"Jurors awarded $24.4 million in actual damages and $229 million in punitive damages to the family of Robert Ernst. Merck will appeal, spokesman Kent Jarrell said. The company's shares fell as much as 6.8 percent." [Bloomberg]

Merck Loses First Vioxx Trial

"A jury ruled today against Merck on all major counts in the first trial relating to its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, awarding a Texas widow $253.4 million in damages.

"The verdict is a blow to the once well-regarded drug giant, whose shares immediately plunged as much as 8%, to $28.07." [Forbes.com]

Jury Awards Widow $253.4M in Vioxx Trial

"A Texas jury found pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. liable Friday for the death of a man who took the once-popular painkiller Vioxx, awarding his widow $253.4 million in damages in the first of thousands of lawsuits pending across the country

"A seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated for 10 1/2 hours over two days before returning the verdict. Merck said it plans to appeal.

"Plaintiff Carol Ernst began to cry when the verdict was read while her attorneys jumped up and shouted, 'Amen!'" [USA Today]

SEC Asking Pfizer for Bextra, Celebrex Data

"Pfizer Inc. is responding to a request from the Securities and Exchange Commission for information and documents on its Bextra and Celebrex painkillers, the drugmaker said Tuesday in a filing." [Washington Post]

Patch watch - The Boston Globe

"OFTEN, THE Food and Drug Administration approves drugs after trials with a few thousand users only to see problems emerge later when the drug reaches the general market. It happened with the pain medication Vioxx, and it might be happening now with the hormonal patch for birth control, Ortho Evra. The FDA should require a large, rigorous controlled study of the patch to make sure that it is, at a minimum, no more likely to cause life-threatening blood clots than the birth control pill." [Boston Globe]

Lilly posts second-quarter loss on hefty Zyprexa settlement

"Eli Lilly & Co. posted a second-quarter loss Thursday after taking a one-time charge of $1.07 billion to cover a product liability case involving its top-selling drug, the anti-psychotic treatment Zyprexa." [Miami.com]