"The Food and Drug Administration was also negligent in the Vioxx case," Senator Grassley declared.
A hearing on Merck's motion is scheduled for July 5, 2006, to decide what parts of Dr Graham's deposition will be allowed in during the trial of a suit brought by retired FBI agent, Gerald Barnett, who had a heart attack in September 2002.
Sooner rather than later, the steady stream of multi-million dollar judgments is bound to enrage Merck shareholders who have already suffered massive losses in their investments since October of 2004.
Stock value dropped another $2.35 per share, or 7.7%, following the first jury's verdict for the plaintiff in Texas on August 19, 2005.
Up until then, analysts had estimated Vioxx liability to be as high as $18 billion. But by the following Monday morning after the verdict, analyst, David Moskowitz, from Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co, told CNBC that he had raised his forecast for Merck's total tab from $11 billion to $50 billion.
Critics says, Merck is misleading investors by not making any provision whatsoever for the Vioxx liabilities in financial statements. In its annual report, regarding Vioxx litigation for 2006, Merck said:
"The Company has not established any reserves for any potential liability relating to the VIOXX Litigation. Unfavorable outcomes in the VIOXX Lawsuits or resulting from the VIOXX Investigations could have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial position, liquidity and results of operations."
Overall, there appears to be no good news out there for Merck shareholders. According to the January 27, 2006, Business Week Online, research from Morgan Stanley and Danish investment bank, Jyske Bank, estimates that patent expirations this year will equal 25% of Merck's 2005 sales as major medicines face generic competition.
And in the meantime, more and more angry consumers are saying civil damage awards are not a enough punishment for Merck and that top management people who allowed the Vioxx disaster to happen should be in jail.
Although unbeknownst to most people, criminal charges are being considered that could lead some of the culprits in that direction.
In New Jersey, the $9 million punitive damage award against Merck in April 2006, resulted in the case being referred to the state's Attorney General. Under the New Jersey Punitive Damage Act, any time there is a punitive damage award there must be an investigation "as to whether a criminal act has been committed by the defendant."
By now, there's certainly plenty of evidence in the public domain to prove that criminal acts were committed. For starters, the Attorney General can review the victims revealed in a 2004 study, lead by FDA scientist, Dr Graham, that says Vioxx caused as many as 140,000 heart attacks and strokes and killed as many as 55,000 people.
Injured parties can find more information at Lawyers and Settlements.com
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/merck_legal.html
Evelyn Pringle
evelyn.pringle@sbcglobal.net
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