Merck to begin making Vioxx payments
Executive Summary
With more than 97 percent of eligible claimants for the $4.85 billion Vioxx (rofecoxib) settlement enrolled in the program, Merck says that it will waive its right to walk away from the agreement. The deal to pay a fixed amount to cover 45,000 to 50,000 heart attack and stroke claims, announced late last year, was contingent on participation of 85 percent of all plaintiffs with pending and tolled claims against the company (1"The Pink Sheet," Nov. 12, 2007, p. 11). More than 48,500 of the approximately 50,000 individuals who have registered eligible injuries have enrolled in the program. Merck plans to make its first interim payments before the end of August
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