It's a sign of the times that a company can express relief after agreeing to settle a massive set of lawsuits for $4.85 billion.

Even when it was winning most Vioxx lawsuits in the courtroom, the maker of the withdrawn painkiller was losing in other areas, giving Merck & Co. considerable impetus for Friday's $4.85 billion nationwide settlement.

The Vioxx litigation against Merck began in 2001, but exploded after the company took the prescription painkiller off the market in 2004. Since then, Merck has been hit with about 26,600 suits, according to company documents.

A Democratic state senator has accused Alabama Attorney General Troy King of awarding a potentially lucrative contract to a GOP-oriented law firm.

Pharmaceutical giant Merck (MRK) will pay $4.85 billion to settle most of the nearly 27,000 pending Vioxx lawsuits nationwide in one of the largest civil agreements ever, the company announced Friday.

Merck & Co.'s agreement to pay $4.85 billion to resolve lawsuits over its Vioxx painkiller offers certainty of a payday to thousands of plaintiffs who no longer must prove the drug caused their heart attacks or strokes.

Merck & Co.'s $4.85 billion settlement over its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx largely vindicates its unusually aggressive strategy for fighting off tens of thousands of liability claims.

Even when it was winning most Vioxx lawsuits in the courtroom, the maker of the withdrawn painkiller was losing in other areas, giving Merck & Co. considerable impetus for yesterday's $4.85 billion nationwide settlement.

"Without this settlement, the litigation might very well stretch on for years," said Executive Vice President Kenneth Frazier, the former general counsel who had developed Merck's fight-every-case strategy.

Merck & Co.'s agreement to pay $4.85 billion to resolve lawsuits over its Vioxx painkiller offers certainty of a payday to thousands of plaintiffs who no longer must prove the drug caused their heart attacks or strokes.