It looks like big blow to Merck's bank balance

[Guest]

British Vioxx users to sue US maker

British law firms are preparing to sue pharmaceutical giant Merck after a US jury found it liable for the death of a man who took its painkiller Vioxx.

Jurors in Texas awarded Robert Ernst's widow, Carol, $253 million (£141 million) in damages.

Vioxx, an arthritis drug which was prescribed to 400,000 patients in the UK, was taken off the market at the end of last September after a three-year trial linked it to an increased risk of heart disease events.

Firms in London and Liverpool were understood to be representing at least 150 potential claimants, the BBC reported.

One possible claimant, Christine Peckham from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, told BBC Radio Four that Merck "should pay".

"Taking Vioxx ruined my life. I've been left partially paralysed, I've lost my sight and I've got epilepsy," she said.

"In total I'd been taking it for four years before they withdrew it from the market, but when I had my first stroke I'd been taking it for 22 months.

"Merck should be made to pay for what they've done for the people who've been taking the product, because they put their profits first, before lives."

Merck has vowed to fight more than 4,200 state and federal Vioxx-related lawsuits pending across the US. The company added it plans to appeal Friday's ruling.

The jury blamed the drug for killing Mr Ernst in his sleep in 2001. Jurors rejected Merck's argument that he died of clogged arteries rather than a Vioxx-induced heart attack that led to his fatal arrhythmia.

 

[Sir_LagaLot]

mercks proscar raped my hair follicles.

with 253 million dollars, i could get a hair transplant and come up with a cure for baldness.

i'm sueing.

 

[The Gardener]

Gardener's cynical prediction:

The case is on appeal. The plaintiffs will still win, but, the award will be reduced to a 500K a person. Then, all the lawyers will settle at that rate.

Not making any kind of "statement", just making a prediction given my past observations on how US legal system works. They very much have a "sliding scale". The appellate court will tailor a verdict sufficient to hurt Merck very badly, but not enough to put it out of business.

 

[Old Baldy]

Oh well, the finasteride. patent runs out in June of 2006. Good news for us!

 

[fatman]

Oh well, the finasteride. patent runs out in June of 2006. Good news for us!

meaning generics will be available right?

 

[Cornholio]

meaning generics will be available right?

Yes, when the patent runs out the market becomes open to generics...The price should come down for the generics though name brand proscar may keep the same price. Since propecia recieved a different indication (hairloss) at a date much later than proscar it will probably stay under patent years longer than Proscar, even though it is the same chemical. It will be interesting to see if the Indian finasteride generics we are already familiar with come to market, or if they are local.

 

[Guest]

Does anyone think they might pull dutasteride off the shelves because of this?

 

[HairlossTalk]

Here's what pisses me off....

$229 million of the awarded money was for "extras".

The pain and suffering part was miniscule and the lost wages was as well.

I truly believe that the court system has an obligation to make its awards more logical and significantly less "frivolous". It encourages other people with no legit claims to sue for ridiculous amounts of money.

HairLossTalk.com

 

[Old Baldy]

Oh well, the finasteride. patent runs out in June of 2006. Good news for us!

meaning generics will be available right?

Corn's right in his post.

Just a little tidbit about patents expiring. One hundred and eighty days before the patent expires, manufacturers can submit their applications (to the FDA) requesting they be allowed to produce the drug that is going to expire. The application provides manufacturing techniques, etc., that will be followed. This "early" request to the FDA allows manufacturers to have their generic product ready to hit the shelves at the time of patent expiration.

There's no doubt Merck will be filing this early manufacturing approval request. For them it will be a formality. (I wonder what Merck will call the generic pill?)

As of June, 2006, we should begin seeing generic finasteride. being sold.

Oh btw, I wouldn't be surprised if Merck tries to extend their original finasteride. patent but they will have to show EXTRAORDINARY new reasons for allowing them to continue to have patent protection. I'm no doctor but it is VERY rare to get this type of extension. Most likely, this request for an "extension" will be summarily denied.

On the other hand, if the "bean counters" determine a generic version, produced by Merck, will sell well enough, the extension application might not be submitted. (You know, much the same as Pharmacia producing Kirkland minoxidil.)

 

[viperfish]

The thing is that propecia does not sell well. They really don't make much on it anymore.

 

[Old Baldy]

Yes, but what if they sell it for really cheap like what happened to minixodil? The problem is it is an rx drug, so you could be right I suppose. It's an extra step for a man to get finasteride. Some men just won't hassle with that process.

 

[Guest]

With the widow in Texas, the reward will actually be around 25 mil, due to the fact that "extras" reimbursements in Texas are limited to something like 1 point something million dollars. Not even a dent in Merck's bank account.