The punitive phase of a trial involving the Merck & Co. painkiller Vioxx was set to start on Thursday after a jury found the drugmaker failed to warn Vioxx users of heart risks and ordered it to pay a 77-year-old plaintiff at least $4.5 million in damages.
Merck shares fell on Thursday, a day after the jury in Atlantic City found that Vioxx had been a substantial contributing cause of a heart attack suffered by John McDarby. The jury determined the drug was not a significant cause of a heart attack suffered by a second plaintiff, Thomas Cona.
