"His health and history," he stated, "also shows he has high cholesterol levels and a family history of cardiac problems."
In this case much like the others, Mr Grossberg alleges that he first took Vioxx in the summer of 1999, after seeing ads on TV touting the drug as a treatment for arthritis pain and that he took it for 26 months prior to his heart attack and subsequent surgery to have a stent placed in one of his arteries.
Two years later, Mr Grossberg began taking Vioxx again, but in late August 2004, he says he quit taking the drug after hearing about the problems with Vioxx. Three months later, he suffered chest pains and underwent a second stent surgery.
"The real issue is a moral issue," Mr Girardi said. "They absolutely, positively, without a doubt knew they were going to harm a bunch of people and they said, 'Go for it.'"
"Heart attacks are a huge problem in the United States," Merck attorney, Phil Beck, argued in his opening statement. He told the jury that due to genetics, Mr Barnett had plaque built up in blood vessels, clogging the arteries, for years before taking Vioxx.
"That's just the way he is made," Mr Beck told the panel.
On the second day of the trial, jurors were shown the testimony of Dr Edward Scolnick, the former head of Merck's research laboratories, who testified in a videotaped deposition that people who took Vioxx died at a rate four times higher than those who didn't receive the drug in one clinical trial, and at a rate 2 ½ times higher in another trial.
Both of the clinical trials referred to were conducted in 2001, to see if Vioxx could help Alzheimers patients.
However, according to Dr Scolnick, Merck did not turn over the clinical trial results to the FDA when the company officials met with representatives from the agency in April 2001.
He also told the jury that he was not aware of the trial results at the time.
On the third day of the trial, Dr Deborah Shapiro, director of clinical biostatistics for Merck, stated in a videotaped deposition that in the clinical trial called VIGOR that took place in 1999 and compared Vioxx and naproxen, "The data was unfavorable to Vioxx, and of course that was a matter of concern."
Jurors were shown a December 1999 memo that Dr Shapiro co-signed and gave to Dr Alise Reicin, a VIGOR study author, in which Dr Shapiro and another Merck researcher stated there were "serious vascular adverse experiences in the Vioxx program."
Dr Shapiro testified that she did not know what Dr Reicin did with the memo. "I don't know who she shared the letter with," she stated.
She also testified that she told various Merck officials about her concerns, but did not try to influence them with her feelings. "I tried to avoid giving my opinion because it was their opinion that ruled the day," Dr Shapiro said.
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