A New Jersey appellate court panel yesterday opened the door to a potential class action lawsuit against Merck on behalf of people who took its now-withdrawn painkiller Vioxx.
The ruling by the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey came as jury selection began in Atlantic City for the next product liability trial over Merck's one-time blockbuster arthritis pill.
That trial, before Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee, is slated to begin with opening arguments Monday.
It includes two plaintiffs: the estate of a man who died of a heart attack after taking Vioxx and a retrial for a man who survived a heart attack, lost his first trial against Merck and was granted a retrial because of new evidence.
The ruling by a three-judge panel overturned a decision by Higbee last May in a case that sought to include patients who have not suffered medical problems but took Vioxx for at least six consecutive weeks before Whitehouse Station-based Merck pulled the drug from the market.
That move in 2004 came after Merck's own research showed Vioxx doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Yesterday's decision said the lower court dismissing the case "prematurely terminated plaintiffs' opportunity" to prove they have a legal claim.
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