10/22/2007 - National Legal News

The New Jersey Supreme Court will hear arguments today regarding a proposed class-action lawsuit concerning patients who took the arthritis drug Vioxx before it was recalled from shelves in September 2004.

The class-action suit would have Merck & Co. pay for medical screening for patients who took Vioxx. Merck pulled the arthritis drug from shelves after a study revealed a correlation between use of the drug and an elevated risk of heart attack.

The case may affect millions of former Vioxx users, some of whom have not experienced any symptoms. Participants in the class action believe monitoring could determine whether patients have suffered any coronary damage as a result of taking Vioxx. They fear that damage could have occurred without any outward symptoms.

Proceedings will begin at 10 a.m. EDT and are expected to be watched live around the nation. Legal experts believe that the nationwide interest is in no small part due to New Jersey’s reputation as a center of both the pharmaceutical industry and mass tort litigation.