Plaintiff Lawyer Grills Vioxx Scientist

July 26, 2005

ANGLETON, Texas - Plaintiff's attorney Mark Lanier pressed defense witness, Dr. Alan Nies, the former Merck scientist in charge of Vioxx studies, about Merck's financial motives for rushing Vioxx to the gneral public.  Nies insisted that Merck was not in a race with Pfizer to sell its Cox-2 inhibitor after Lanier scrutinized Nies's 1996 Vioxx product-development plan which expressed concerns over the "significant negative impact" on Vioxx financial projections should Pfizer's Celebrex be released first.  Plaintiff's lawyer Mark Lanier emphasized to the jury the portion of the development plan claiming that Merck could lose over $600 million in potential revenue if Vioxx was released behind Celebrex.  The document also noted an "accelerated and compressed" drug development strategy, in which some studies were begun before others were finished.

"You wanted to get the drug out for the money?" Lanier demanded, his voice raised.  "Not me!" Nies responded. Nies admitted that his plan featured a marketing aspect, but insisted that he knew nothing about "financial modeling" at Merck.  "Six hundred and eleven million dollars is the value of being first rather than second?" Lanier demanded a few minutes later.  "You don't have to yell at me; I can hear you," Nies responded.

Merck pulled Vioxx from the market last year when a study showed it could double the risk of heart attacks or strokes if taken for 18 months or longer. Robert Ernst died in his sleep after taking Vioxx for eight months to ease pain in his hands.  Merck has relied heavily on Ernst's autopsy, which says he died of an irregular heartbeat secondary to clogged arteries, and no studies link Vioxx to those conditions. The coroner testified earlier in the trial that a heart attack was likely behind those conditions, but Ernst died too fast for his heart to show damage.  Merck claims the company acted responsibly, disclosed research, and believed Vioxx to be safe until the study that prompted the drug's withdrawal from the market came up.