The score is still in Merck & Co.'s (nyse: MRK) favor when it comes to lawsuits, but today dealt a blow as an FBI employee who suffered a heart attack after taking Vioxx was awarded $50 million dollars in damages.
Merck was cited for not disclosing pertinent information to the man's doctors. There are over 16,000 lawsuits pending against Merck and so far they've won a few and lost a few.
All the same, with settlements of $50 million, you have to wonder how Merck will fare against 16,000 claims.
I've heard opinions both ways: its a win for the little guy who gets hurt by greedy big pharma; but it's also a huge deterrent to any company (large or small) to try to get a new drug to market quickly.
The jury is still out on just how much Merck knew about Vioxx before marketing it to consumers. But it certainly appears that they knew something...
What do you think? How guilty is Merck? What would a fair settlement look like?
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