Merck agrees to $4.85B Vioxx settlement

NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Merck has agreed to pay about $4.85 billion to settle a significant portion of claims over injuries allegedly linked to its Vioxx painkiller.

The drug maker announced the settlement in U.S. district court in New Orleans, the Wall Street Journal said. Merck had insisted it would fight all 27,000 cases filed rather than compromise.

Merck said the $4.85 billion, if certain conditions under the agreement are met, would go into a settlement fund for qualifying claims that enter into the resolution process. This is not a class-action settlement, Merck said, and claims will be evaluated on an individual basis.

Merck plans to set up two funds, a $4 billion fund for claims of myocardial infarction and a $850 million fund for ischemic stroke claims. The amount awarded to individual plaintiffs will vary and the company says it does not know how many plaintiffs will be covered.

Vioxx was approved for sale in 1999 and quickly became a popular painkiller, with annual sales reaching $2.5 billion before it was pulled from the market in September 2004 amid cardiovascular safety concerns.

Since then, Merck has won 11 cases that have gone to trial and lost five. Dozens of cases were scheduled for trial next year.