“This case has monumental significance to public health and the ... Merck agreed in 2007 to pay almost $5 billion to settle personal injury suits claiming that its recalled pain drug Vioxx caused ...

Merck is holding its own defending Vioxx in the courtroom, racking up its fifth win this week. Most experts say Merck’s fight-every-case strategy is discouraging an even bigger flood of suits ...

The reasons behind the paucity of FDA actions in this case are not clear, but it already faces accusations of silencing one of its own experts who had raised safety concerns about Vioxx (see p.