The verdict is Merck's first win out of two Vioxx-related trials. In August, a Texas jury found the company liable in a Vioxx user's death. Damages will be cut to about one-tenth of the jury's $253 million award due to Texas' caps on punitive damages.
Much of the seven-week trial relied on the testimony of medical experts. Witnesses for Merck testified the company believed Vioxx was safe for the heart before being pulled from the market one year ago, after a study showed it doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes when taken for at least 18-months.
The trial concerned 60-year-old Frederick "Mike" Humeston of Boise, Idaho, who was stricken two months after he began taking the drug to ease pain from a Vietnam war knee injury.
After deliberating for less than eight hours over three days, the jury concluded Merck adequately disclosed information about the drug's risks and could not be held accountable for Humeston's heart attack.
The company faces more than 6,500 similar lawsuits and plans to fight the product liability suits one by one.
About 20 million Americans took Vioxx after it hit the market in 1999. At its peak, Vioxx brought in profits of $2.5 billion-a-year.
