Jury selection for the first case against Merck & Co. Inc. alleging wrongful death due to use of the drug Vioxx will begin Monday. The company moved to postpone jury selection in Wharton, Texas for at least two months saying a high-profile lawsuit by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed last week would bias a jury. District Judge Ben Hardin denied the motion Tuesday.
Abbott's lawsuit claims the company aggressively marketed Vioxx by misrepresenting its own studies and the concerns of physicians about increased risk of heart problems, according to a written statement.
"Drug companies have an ethical, legal and professional responsibility to conduct meticulous clinical studies to ensure the safety and effectiveness of drugs for human consumption," Abbott said.
Merck filed the motion Friday on the grounds that those in the jury will go to court with prior knowledge that would inevitably result from news coverage of Abbott's separate lawsuit.
Hardin said the attorneys could use questionnaires to "ferret out" bias in the jury selection before the hearing the following Thursday.
Merck conducted an immediate voluntary withdrawal of Vioxx, an arthritis and acute pain medication, from the market in September of last year.
"We are taking this action because we believe it best serves the interests of patients," said Raymond V. Gilmartin, chairman, Merck's president and chief executive officer.
The withdrawal was the result of a three-year clinical trial called APPROVe that showed life-threatening complications, such as increased risk of heart attack and stroke beginning after 18 months, according to a written statement.
"Merck has always believed that prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trials are the best way to evaluate the safety of medicines," said Peter S. Kim, president of Merck Research Laboratories. "APPROVe is precisely this type of study - and it has provided us with new data on the cardiovascular profile of Vioxx."
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