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 ANGLETON, Texas (AP) - The nation's first Vioxx-related lawsuit to go to trial opened Thursday with the plaintiff's lawyer contending that Merck & Co. traded its mission of treating sickness for relentless marketing and pursuit of profits.
Attorney Mark Lanier displayed the phrase "Merck-y ethics" on a large screen and promised to skewer the judgment of a company he said knew the popular painkiller could be dangerous years before a study showed it could double risk of heart attack or stroke. That study prompted Merck to voluntarily remove it from the market last year.
In a much more subdued presentation, Merck lawyer David Kiernan, who is also a surgeon, urged jurors to keep an open mind as Merck seeks to show the company didn't rush a lucrative drug to market and slip shoddy science past the Food and Drug Administration to pump up profits.
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