Pharmaceutical giant Merck has agreed to pay up to CAN$36.8 million (US$36.3 million) to resolve all suits brought against it in Canada over its former hit painkiller Vioxx.
Merck voluntarily withdrew the popular medicine, known by its generic name Rofecoxib, from the market in 2004 after interim clinical trials linked the anti-inflammatory drug to a higher risk of heart attacks and stroke.
Since then Merck has faced numerous lawsuits over the medicine from customers.
The Canada deal will still have to be approved by the courts.
In 2007, Merck announced a $4.85 billion deal that would allow the US pharmaceutical giant to settle more than 95 percent of lawsuits in the United States over Vioxx without any admission of liability on Merck’s part.
And in November the US Department of Justice said Merck had agreed to pay nearly $1 billion to resolve criminal and civil charges for wrongfully marketing Vioxx as a drug to help rheumatoid arthritis.
See the press release (English) (French) and the settlement agreement.
For additional information, and how to be included in the class action, contact Paul Mitchell,Q.C.
Paul Mitchell, Q.C.is a BC personal injury lawyer who has extensive experience with severe injury claims, including brain injury claims, spinal injury claims, death claims, ICBC claims, medical malpractice claims, and other catastrophic injury claims. He acts for injured clients all over BC and Alberta, and will not act for ICBC or any other insurance company.
For more information on this article, or for a confidential discussion of your injury claim, contact Paul Mitchell, Q.C. at 250-869-1115 (direct line), or send him a confidential email at [email protected]
