Litigators prepare for class action lawsuits against Merck

LexisNexix Professional Development Center along with Mealey Publications & Conference Group organized a Vioxx Litigation Conference this week to help Vioxx attorneys prepare for forthcoming trials of hundreds of class action lawsuits. The conference was chaired by Andy D. Birchfield, Jr., Esq., Beasley, Allen, Crowe, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., and Christopher A. Seeger, Esq., Seeger Weiss LLP.

Merck has vowed to aggressively fight all Vioxx class action lawsuits and in statements made through its attorneys has refused to settle any cases out of court arguing that Vioxx victims have no case against the company. Many analysts also expect that Bush administration may be successful in taking away the right of American people to sue a drugmaker even when it manufactures and markets a killer drug.

While it is not easy to estimate Merck's liabilities in Vioxx litigation, analysts estimate that it could be as high as $38 billion though one analyst has even come up with a $55 billion estimate. Vioxx litigation, like any other product liability case, is not going to be easy since attorneys will have to prove that Merck knew of the risks and hid them from the FDA, physicians, and patients. Lawyers claim that they now have enough evidence to prove that by presenting emails and training material used by Merck to teach its sales reps to dodge tough questions from doctors about the safety of Vioxx. Merck, on the other hand, is planning to prove in each case that the health of each individual rather than Vioxx was a cause of injury or death. (Related article: Merck's aggressive approach to Vioxx class action lawsuits)

That is why this conference served as a training seminar for attorneys working on Vioxx cases. Some of the topics covered include:

John Lehmann, PhD, Pharmacologist & President, DrugIntel discussed the pharmacology of Vioxx answering questions like: What is Vioxx and how do its components allegedly contribute to heart problems? Do all COX-2 inhibitors interfere with enzymes that can help to avoid cardiovascular disease? If a patient stops taking Vioxx, is the potential threat over? (Related article: Vioxx found to be the most dangerous drug in the Cox-2 category)

Ira J. Gelb, MD, Clinical Professor and Director of Clinical Programs, Charles E. Schmidt School of Biomedical Science, Florida Atlantic University and Paul Rheingold, Rheingold Valet Rheingold Shkolnik & McCartney discussed cardiology issues associated with the use of Vioxx addressing such issues as Mechanisms of a heart attack/stroke, medical perspective on the clinical studies, and tough call cases.

Barry Hill, Hill Toriseva & Williams and David Buchanan, Seeger Weiss provided a legal perspective on the science and clinical medical studies.

Of course no seminar could be complete without discussing the role of FDA, which has consistently sided with Merck in the Vioxx recall controversy and has refused to take responsibility for the deaths of thousands of Americans even though its own expert Dr. David Graham has argued that it is the FDA that is ultimately responsible. Along with the White House that owes a lot of favors to the drug industry including to Merck and its CEO Raymond Gilmartin, even the FDA is populated with drug industry insiders. Therefore, the role played by the administration and the FDA will be critical in Vioxx trials.

A series of presentations were also made with regards to theories of liability and defense, what is the criteria to consider when evaluating a potential client and case evaluation, and status of litigation in different states. (Related article: Vioxx drug liability - a new mass tort)

Related to Vioxx class action lawsuits are the rapidly exploding lawsuits against Pfizer, the maker of Vioxx competitor drugs Celebrex and Bextra, both of which have been found to have serious adverse side effects. Shanin Specter of Kline & Specter, one of the leading law firm working on Vioxx lawsuits discussed the potential for litigation expanding beyond Vioxx to Celebrex, Bextra, and other Cox-2 drugs.

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