Jurors deliberated about two hours Thursday without reaching a verdict in the first trial stemming from a federal lawsuit against Merck & Co. over its once-popular painkiller Vioxx.

Jurors deliberated about eight hours today without reaching a verdict on whether Merck & Co.'s Vioxx contributed to the 2001 death of a Florida man who had been taking the once-popular painkiller for about a month.

A Merck executive denied today she tried to pressure one of the nation’s top cardiologists into not publishing an article in a highly respected medical journal raising concerns that Vioxx could cause heart attacks and strokes.

NPR.org, December 7, 2005 – Merck rested its case Wednesday afternnon in the first deferral Vioxx trial after testimony from a pathologist who said the painkiller played no role in the fatal heart attack of 53-year-old Richard “Dicky” Irvin.

Two Merck executives involved in the development of the blockbuster drug Vioxx testified there was no clinical evidence it could cause heart attacks and strokes when it was approved for sale five years ago.

A Merck executive denied today she tried to pressure one of the nation's top cardiologists into not publishing an article in a highly respected medical journal raising concerns that Vioxx could cause heart attacks and strokes.

NPR.org, December 6, 2005 – In the first full day of defense testimony at the federal Vioxx trial in Houston, witnesses for drug manufacturer Merck presented the company and its scientists as careful, methodical and, above all, concerned about the safety of the users of its drugs.

Witnesses for drug manufacturer Merck presented the company and its scientists as careful, methodical and, above all, concerned about the safety of the users of its drugs.

A doctor who has analyzed the effects of Vioxx on the heart denied today that four studies that he says showed the link in low-dose use were statistically insignificant.

HOUSTON – Many of Merck’s own studies in Vioxx produced data indicating that the painkiller increase risks of hear attacks, even if taken over a short period of time, an epidemiologist testified on behalf of plaintiffs in a federal case here.