Testimony Ends in First Vioxx Trial

August 16, 2005

Texas District Judge Ben Hardin told the jury to expect closing arguments from both sides tomorrow in the nation’s first Vioxx case. The long-awaited verdict drew nearer as witness testimony ended today after five weeks of trial.  Carol Ernst’s lawsuit against Vioxx manufacturer, Merck, alleged that her husband’s sudden death in 2001 came as a result of Vioxx, a painkiller he was taking for eight months prior to his demise.  Officials have attributed the decedent's death to arrhythmia, even though the man was a marathon runner and personal trainer who had no history of heart problems.

To rebut Merck’s argument that clogged arteries, not arrhythmia, caused Ernst's death, the plaintiff recalled witness Dr. Benedict Lucchesi, a pharmacologist with 50 years experience studying arrhythmias. Lucchesi testified that Vioxx inhibited the deceased's body’s ability to thin blood and that the drug “contributed significantly” to Ernst's death.

Spectators are skeptical that Merck will be able to escape the suit without paying sizeable damage awards. In a published commentary, Prudential analyst and physician Timothy Anderson reported that “[w]e think the odds are against Merck, and that share price could contract more than 5%, but less than 10%, if a sizable award is meted out against the company.” Merck faces more than 4,200 similar lawsuits currently pending in state and federal courts across the United States.