Merck Could Face 100K Vioxx Suits

A federal judge told dozens of lawyers crowded into a courtroom here Monday that there could ultimately be up to 100,000 cases filed against Merck over its now-withdrawn pain reliever Vioxx, and that he could hear a case as early as the fall.

There have been more than 2,000 cases filed against the New Jersey-based drugmaker so far. The pretrial issues for federal cases are being handled by U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon, and lawyers from both sides met here for a monthly status conference.

Analysts have estimated that Merck's potential liability could reach $18 billion. Merck withdrew Vioxx from the market last September after a study showed it doubled patients' risk of heart attacks and stroke in people taking the drug longer than 18 months.

The plaintiff's attorneys are squabbling with Merck over records of thousands of company employees engaged in marketing the drug. A lawyer for Merck told the court Monday it would be "tremendously burdensome" to provide the information. The lead plaintiffs' lawyer, Russell Herman, countered afterward that Merck's sales representatives were "told to dodge" potentially awkward questions. Plaintiffs cite an internal Merck document with instructions to the representatives, referred to as "Dodge Ball Vioxx" in a court filing.