Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Merck & Co. put profits ahead of consumers' safety by hiding heart risks of its Vioxx painkiller, a lawyer told a jury in closing arguments of the third trial of a lawsuit filed over the drug.

HOUSTON (Dow Jones) – The first federal trial on the risks of Merck & Co.’s (MRK) Vioxx edged toward jury deliberations Thursday morning, with closing arguments from the two sides.

Telling jurors their decision will have “far-reaching consequences for how drug companies conduct their business,” the attorney for a woman who believes her husband’s short-term use of Vioxx caused his death asked the panel to send Merck a message.

The jury in the first federal case against drugmaker Merck & Co. Inc.’s Vioxx adjourned on Thursday after deliberating for about two hours over whether the painkiller contributed to a Florida man’s death.

HOUSTON- 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 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.