Vioxx Settlement Almost Wrapped Up
Date Published: Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Merck & Co. has made a final $4.1 billion payment to its Vioxx settlement fund. According to an Associated Press report, final payouts to former Vioxx users or their survivors should be made by the end of June.
Vioxx was approved for use in 1999, and quickly became a bestseller for Merck, with annual sales of $2.5 billion; however, the painkiller was pulled off the market in 2004 after an analysis of patients using Vioxx linked the defective drug to more than 27,000 heart attacks or sudden cardiac deaths in the U.S. from 1999 through 2003. The withdrawal prompted thousands of product liability lawsuits that claimed Merck didn’t properly warn doctors and patients of the drug’s risks.
To settle most of those suits, Merck established a $4.85 billion fund in November 2007. Merck set up a $4 billion fund for people who claim they suffered heart attacks as a result of Vioxx, and another $850 million fund for those who suffered ischemic strokes. The settlements were awarded on an individual bases, and the amount of money each plaintiff ultimately receives will vary.
According to the Associated Press, all Vioxx heart attack claims have already been paid or denied. Nearly 18,000 Vioxx stroke claims are in process, and about 7,400 of those resulted in initial payments.
The Associated Press is also reporting about 355 plaintiff groups did not join the settlement. Those lawsuits are still pending. Merck faces four Vioxx lawsuits this year, two bought by patients who didn’t participate in the settlement and two aimed at recovering costs related to use of the painkiller, the Associated Press said.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 11:44 am and is filed under Pharmaceuticals, Vioxx.
Vioxx Settlement Almost Wrapped Up
Date Published: Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Merck & Co. has made a final $4.1 billion payment to its Vioxx settlement fund. According to an Associated Press report, final payouts to former Vioxx users or their survivors should be made by the end of June.
Vioxx was approved for use in 1999, and quickly became a bestseller for Merck, with annual sales of $2.5 billion; however, the painkiller was pulled off the market in 2004 after an analysis of patients using Vioxx linked the defective drug to more than 27,000 heart attacks or sudden cardiac deaths in the U.S. from 1999 through 2003. The withdrawal prompted thousands of product liability lawsuits that claimed Merck didn’t properly warn doctors and patients of the drug’s risks.
To settle most of those suits, Merck established a $4.85 billion fund in November 2007. Merck set up a $4 billion fund for people who claim they suffered heart attacks as a result of Vioxx, and another $850 million fund for those who suffered ischemic strokes. The settlements were awarded on an individual bases, and the amount of money each plaintiff ultimately receives will vary.
According to the Associated Press, all Vioxx heart attack claims have already been paid or denied. Nearly 18,000 Vioxx stroke claims are in process, and about 7,400 of those resulted in initial payments.
The Associated Press is also reporting about 355 plaintiff groups did not join the settlement. Those lawsuits are still pending. Merck faces four Vioxx lawsuits this year, two bought by patients who didn’t participate in the settlement and two aimed at recovering costs related to use of the painkiller, the Associated Press said.
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March 3rd, 2010 at 11:46 am
Who gets to keep the intrest money from now till when the pay out company who take their sweet time to pay our money to us?
March 8th, 2010 at 8:02 am
I HAVE A QUESTION! IS THERE ANY WAY TO FIND OUT WHEN ( TO THE DAY) WILL THE FINAL 60% PAYMENTS WILL GO OUT TO THOSE WHO HAD AN ( IS). MY HUSBAND FALLS INTO THE STROKE PARTICIPATAION AS HE LOST HIS VISION AND IS NOW 100 % BLIND. WOULD LIKE A WINDOW, AS WE ARE GOING TO THANKFULLY BE BUING A HOME, AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW AN APPX. DATE TO TELL THE SELLERS. THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE FOR BRIAN & I AND OUR CHILDREN. GOD BLESS, AND THANK YOU AGAIN, KATHY & BRIAN CHASE
March 16th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO RECEIVE A SETTLEMENT BECAUSE OF THE VIOXX I TOOK FOR 2YRS. AS A RESULT IN 2003 I HAD A HEART ATTACK, AND AS A RESULT HAD TO HAVE A QUADRUPLE BY=PASS, AND IN 2004 HA 5 STENTS. NO HEART DISEASE RAN IN MY FAMILY, I WAS THE FIRST.
I GOT ALL MY RECORDS FROM MY FAMILY PHYSICIAN AND CARDIOLOGIST AND FILED IT WITH A LAW FIRM HERE IN INDIANAPOLIS, AND THEY SENT ALL MY PAPERWORK BACK WITH A NOTE SAYING THEY COULD NOT HELP ME. THAT WAS IN 2004 AND I STILL HAVE ALL THE PAPERWORK, IF SOMEONE COULD HELP ME RECEIVE A SETTLEMENT.
THANK YOU
SHERRY SWANSON
August 31st, 2010 at 11:01 pm
I took vioxx, I didn’t have a heart attack nor stroke, but I have high blood pressure, and at the time when I was taking them I had blood in my stool, so where do I seek help from to see if I qualify for benefits.