A JURY ON THURSDAY HANDED MERCK & CO. INC. ANOTHER COURT VICTORY OVER THE WITHDRAWN PAIN MEDICINE VIOXX WHEN IT FOUND THE DRUG WAS NOT A SUBSTANTIAL FACTOR IN THE HEART ATTACK OF A 68-YEAR-OLD NEW JERSEY WOMAN, ACCORDING TO REUTERS. THE JURY OF FIVE MEN AND TWO WOMEN ALSO DECIDED THAT ALTHOUGH MERCK FAILED TO WARN THE PLAINTIFF, ELAINE DOHERTY, ABOUT THE HEART RISKS OF TAKING VIOXX, IT DID ADEQUATELY WARN HER DOCTOR. THE JURY DID NOT AWARD THE PLAINTIFF ANY MONETARY DAMAGES. THE JURY ALSO FOUND THAT MERCK DID NOT COMMIT CONSUMER FRAUD IN EITHER ITS MARKETING OF VIOXX TO PHYSICIANS OR TO THE PLAINTIFF. MERCK HAS NOW WON FOUR OF SEVEN VIOXX SUITS THAT HAVE BEEN DECIDED IN COURT. IN THE TWO PREVIOUS SUITS TRIED IN THE COMPANY'S HOME STATE OF NEW JERSEY, MERCK WON THE FIRST BUT PARTIALLY LOST THE SECOND WHEN A JURY FOUND VIOXX HAD CONTRIBUTED TO THE HEART ATTACK OF 77-YEAR-OLD JOHN MCDARBY. JIM FITZPATRICK, AN ATTORNEY FOR MERCK, AFFIRMED THE NEW JERSEY COURT'S FINDING. "THE COMPANY ACTED RESPONSIBLY," HE SAID. "THE SCIENCE WAS ON OUR SIDE AND THE JURY AGREED. MRS. DOHERTY WOULD HAVE SUFFERED A HEART ATTACK WHETHER SHE WAS TAKING VIOXX OR NOT." VIOXX, LAUNCHED IN 1999, GENERATED ABOUT $2.5 BILLION A YEAR IN SALES UNTIL MERCK VOLUNTARILY WITHDREW IT IN SEPTEMBER, 2004, AFTER FINDING THE DRUG INCREASED THE RISK OF HEART ATTACK AND STROKE IN PEOPLE WHO USED IT FOR 18 MONTHS OR MORE. PLAINTIFFS HAVE FILED AT LEAST 11,500 VIOXX SUITS, ABOUT HALF OF THEM IN NEW JERSEY, AGAINST MERCK. THE COMPANY HAS SAID IT WILL FIGHT THEM ONE BY ONE. STEVE BROZAK, AN ANALYST WITH WBB SECURITIES, SAID MORE COURT VICTORIES WILL, IN FACT, ENABLE MERCK TO REACH A GROUP SETTLEMENT ON AFFORDABLE TERMS. "EVERY NEW VICTORY MAKES THINGS MORE AFFORDABLE FOR MERCK," BROZAK SAID, BUT CAUTIONED THAT IT IS STILL TOO EARLY TO GAUGE HOW MERCK WILL FARE AS OTHER CASES COME TO THE FORE. SHARES OF MERCK HAD FALLEN AS MUCH AS 3.8 PERCENT EARLIER IN THE DAY AMID NERVOUSNESS ABOUT THE VERDICT AND A SHARP DOWNTURN IN THE STOCK MARKET. BUT THE SHARES RECOVERED AFTER THE VERDICT, TRADING DOWN 0.4 PERCENT TO $36.55 IN LATE AFTERNOON ON THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE. THE STOCK IS JUST BELOW A YEAR HIGH, AND IS UP NEARLY 16 PERCENT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, OUTPERFORMING THE 2 PERCENT RISE ON THE AMERICAN STOCK EXCHANGE PHARMACEUTICAL INDEX OVER THE SAME PERIOD.
