US drug company to pay $5bn in rofecoxib claims

The US drug company Merck announced last week that it will pay $4.85bn to settle 26,600 lawsuits, representing 47,000 plaintiffs, in addition to 265 possible class action cases, arising out of the use of rofecoxib (Vioxx). The agreement is to cover cases filed in federal and state courts, and depend...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBMJ. British medical journal (International ed.) Vol. 335; no. 7628; p. 1011
Main Author Charatan, Fred
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London BMJ Publishing Group 17.11.2007
EditionInternational edition
Subjects
Class action lawsuits
Drug therapy
Pharmaceutical industry
Settlements & damages
Side effects
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Summary:The US drug company Merck announced last week that it will pay $4.85bn to settle 26,600 lawsuits, representing 47,000 plaintiffs, in addition to 265 possible class action cases, arising out of the use of rofecoxib (Vioxx). The agreement is to cover cases filed in federal and state courts, and depends on 85% of all plaintiffs dropping their cases. The money will be paid into a settlement fund for claims that qualify.
ISSN:0959-8146
DOI:10.1136/bmj.39398.517176.DB