Vioxx maker answers with defense verdict: Score--Merck 10, Plaintiffs 5

Just weeks after Merck was hit with a multi-million dollar verdict in another Vioxx case in New Jersey, a jury this week in the otherwise plaintiff-friendly Madison County, Illinois court handed the plaintiff a defense verdict after deliberating less than 6 hours.  Plaintiff Frank Schwaller sued the maker of the Cox-2 Inhibitor for the death of his wife.  After taking Vioxx for about a year and a half, in 2003, Patricia Schwaller died of a heart attack.  The jury may have been persuaded that Ms. Schwaller's heart attack was not caused by her prescription medication as she also suffered from high cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity.  Merck continues to fight the Vioxx cases one-by-one.  As jury trials go in these kinds of high profile pharmaceutical cases, the company is doing pretty well.  The score now?  Merck 10, Plaintiffs 5.