A New Jersey jury ordered Merck to pay 4.5 million dollars in compensation to John McDarby, 77, who argued that the painkiller Vioxx caused his heart attack. The same jury cleared Merck of liability in a separate claim by Thomas Cona, 60, making it a split verdict in Atlantic County court.
Merck shares fell 4.4 percent to 34.42 dollars in midday New York trading. Investors had anticipated the company would prevail in both cases, and the partial loss unsettled the market. The jury could still impose punitive damages on top of the compensatory award, potentially multiplying the total payout significantly.
The two cases were the first among Merck's more than 9,000 US lawsuits to involve plaintiffs who used Vioxx for longer than 18 months. Merck withdrew the drug in September 2004 after an internal study found it doubled cardiac risk in long-term users.
Analysts were divided on the outlook. Prudential Equity's Tim Anderson called the result "a negative for the stock," while Morgan Stanley analysts said they viewed the share dip as a buying opportunity, citing strong grounds for appeal. Merck said it would present evidence to show it had fully informed US regulators about Vioxx risks.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in April 2006, in its own words.