It’s a sign of the times that a company can express relief after agreeing to settle a massive set of lawsuits for $4.85bn. But Merck & Co’s decision to end the Vioxx wars last week appears to be a victory for a company facing $20bn in liability – and a validation of its courthouse strategy to fight each case.
The settlement, negotiated over about a year, was announced on Friday (16 November) in New Orleans just before a status conference was scheduled in front of US District Judge Eldon Fallon, who had been supervising the federal multi-district litigation docket.
