Merck Vioxx related shareholder lawsuits in Supreme Court
I think even a 6-year old understands that companies exist for the sake of shareholders, but not solely for them. They wouldn’t survive if they did not take good care of their customers, and in recent years, the trend has been to also be good corporate citizens.
Apparently, Merck exists even though it does not care for either. After Vioxx killed as many as 60,000 Americans (and many more all over the globe), Merck literally got away with murder. It paid a measly sum to families of dead Americans, and moved on.
As everyone knows, Merck is a company with no ethics at all. Not only did it hide the dangers of Vioxx from patients and physicians (actually it had a well-organized campaign to mislead them, that also included a publication of a faux medical journal that sang praises of Vioxx), it also hid the risks to the company from shareholders.
Vioxx recall related shareholder lawsuits went nowhere while the Merck stock which was trading at 40+ before the recall fell to 20s. Billions were lost in shareholder value.
Thankfully, the US Supreme Court will now here if Merck also misled its investors.
Over the counter painkiller dangers
FDA is ordering manufacturers of over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers and fever reducers to revise their labeling to include warnings about potential safety risks, such as internal bleeding and liver damage.
Products covered by the FDA action include acetaminophen, and a class of drugs known as the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). These include aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, and ketoprofen.
Acetaminophen is in a class by itself. The revised labeling applies to all OTC pain relievers and fever reducers, including those that contain one of these ingredients in combination with other ingredients, such as in cold medicines containing pain relievers or fever reducers.
People sometimes take more acetaminophen than the labeling recommends. Others unknowingly take multiple products containing acetaminophen at the same time. Exceeding the recommended dosage of acetaminophen may increase the risks for severe liver damage. Alcohol use can also increase the risk of liver damage with acetaminophen.
The risk for stomach bleeding may increase in people who use NSAIDs and who are taking blood-thinning drugs (anticoagulants) or steroids.
Bextra settlement
While both Merck and Pfizer had denied that Vioxx, Celebrex, and Bextra killed anyone, after Merck settled its lawsuits over the death and injuries to tens of thousands of Americans, Pfizer is following in its footsteps and settling almost all pending lawsuits against it.
Pfizer Inc., that still sells Celebrex after Bextra was banned for personal injuries to thousands of people, will pay close to one billion US dollars in compensation. The checks are expected to be issued by the end of 2008. Victims are advised to discuss this with their attorney to find out the logistics of receiving the payment.
A recently released report has further confirmed the risks of NSAIDs and arthritis patients should discuss with their attorneys their options for switching to safer painkillers.