FDA panelists who approxed Vioxx had ties to drugmaker

The Center for Science in the Public Interest released a study yesterday which showed that 10 members of the Food and Drug Administration advisory panel which voted to allow the sales of Vioxx and other similar painkillers had ties to the drugmakers. These ties include consulting fees, speaking honoraria, and research support. Without these votes, drugs like Vioxx would never have hit the market (the panel only voted 17-15 in favor of releasing Vioxx to the public...sounds a little close to me, you think with so many people voting against it that it might raise a red flag that it needs to be researched more). Sounds like the FDA is just as guilty as Merck. Could they be named in a lawsuit too? More information can be found here, from the Seattle Times.

Merck's Vioxx shareholder suits consolidated

Class action litigation from those who have taken Vioxx are not Merck's only concern at the moment. Merck is also liable to it's shareholders, who were misled by the company they trusted and many lost thousands of dollars when the stock tumbled following the Vioxx recall. Well, today, the federal Judicial Panel of Multidistrict Litigation granted Merck & Co's motion to consolidate all pending shareholder lawsuits into one multidistrict litigation. Therefore, the cases are being transferred to a federal district court in New Jersey. More information can be found here from CBS Marketwatch.