Merck to start Vioxx settlement payouts in August

[flashl]

TRENTON, N.J.—Merck & Co. will start cutting checks for former users of its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx next month after announcing Thursday that it will fund a $4.85 billion settlement expected to resolve roughly 50,000 lawsuits.

The decision marks the beginning of the end of the four-year legal saga, which began when cardiovascular side effects forced Merck to pull Vioxx off the market in 2004, triggering tens of thousands of lawsuits, sullying its once-spotless reputation and forcing out its then-chief executive.

The Vioxx case has cost Merck at least $6.8 billion, including more than $1.53 billion through March 31 on legal costs for defense research and individual trials, most of which it has won.

...

On Thursday, Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck said more than 97 percent of eligible claimants -- 48,550 out of 49,960 -- have enrolled in the settlement program, surpassing threshold levels the company required for the deal to proceed. Therefore, Merck said that on Aug. 4 it will waive its right to walk away from the deal reached with plaintiffs' attorneys last fall.

Boston