Judge Holds Merck Liable - Wall Street Journal

BY BILL LINDSAY

SYDNEY—An Australian court Friday held Merck & Co. liable in the heart attack of a patient using the painkiller Vioxx, but it rejected allegations that the U.S. drug maker was negligent in keeping on the market a drug it later withdrew.

In Melbourne's Federal Court, Justice Christopher Jessup said Graeme Peterson is entitled to compensation after Merck's local distribution arm failed to adequately warn his doctor of potential cardiovascular risks from the drug's use, despite knowing of them as early as March 2000.

The court found that the drug was "not reasonably fit" for relieving arthritis pain and "not of ...

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