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November 03, 2005
Merck's Big Win
I'm not sure what the PR fallout from Merck's win in the second Vioxx trial will be, but the market quickly let us know what the financial aspects were - a 7.2 jump in stock price.
Clearly, pharmaceutical companies have a responsibility to inform the public about the dangers of the products they sell. Twelve New Jerseyans, however, have provided us with news that that liability is limited. Just having a heart attack while taking Vioxx, at least in this case, is not sufficient to collect the Big Money.
Speaking of that, the $253 million verdict in the Texas case is being reduced to about $25 million by Texas law. That the state believes (perhaps correctly) it is necessary to automatically curb its citizens' verdicts says something about the state of our legal system.
Posted by Jason Richardson at November 3, 2005 10:57 AM