02/01/2008 - National Legal News

A federal grand jury is investigating the allegation that Merck & Co. promoted the arthritis drug Vioxx for uses that had not been approved by the FDA, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Health Care Fraud division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts is handling the investigation.

Merck voluntarily recalled Vioxx from the market on Sept. 30, 2004, after a study showed a correlation between use of the drug and an increased risk of heart attack.

Facing over 26,000 separate lawsuits, Merck proposed a $4.85 billion settlement in November.

Attorney Joseph L. Doherty, of the Boston law firm Doherty & Quill, doesn’t believe that the investigation will affect plaintiffs’ decisions whether or not to accept the settlement.

Past federal drug marketing probes have led to multimillion dollar settlements. In October 2001, after a Department of Justice probe of TAP Pharmaceutical Products, which makes the prostate cancer drug Lupron, the company agreed to pay the federal government $875 million. AstraZeneca pleaded guilty to illegal marketing in 2003, agreeing to settle the charges against them for $355 million.

A spokesperson for Merck could not be reached for comment.