Merck unit held liable in Australian Vioxx case

Drugmaker Merck & Co’s one-time blockbuster arthritis drug Vioxx doubled the risk of heart attacks and was not fit for sale, an Australian court said on Friday, in a ruling against the U.S. group’s Australian unit.

Federal Court judge Christopher Jessup awarded A$287,912 ($259,400) plus interest to grandfather Graeme Peterson, 59, who claimed the drug caused him to have a heart attack in 2003.

Peterson’s lawyers, Slater & Gordon, said the move paved the way for similar claims from hundreds of other Australians who suffered heart attacks after using the medicine, which was withdrawn from the market worldwide in 2004.

The legal victory against Merck’s local subsidiary MSD Australia came in the first such trial outside the United States. Merck said in a statement it would appeal those portions of the court’s findings that went against it.

While damages were awarded against MSD Australia, the court in Melbourne dismissed claims against the parent company, finding that Merck was not negligent in its development, scientific study and sale of Vioxx.

In 2007, the drugmaker agreed to pay $4.85 billion to settle thousands of U.S. personal-injury lawsuits from former Vioxx users who claimed the drug caused their heart attacks or strokes.

LONDON (Reuters)